Breakaway
by onyx-dreams
Summary: Unappreciated and overlooked, Sakura leaves Konoha and discovers that a bedtime story, is not just a story. She discovers her inherited blood limit and must rise to face new challenges. [GaaSaku]
1. Prologue: A legend awaits

Breakaway

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Summary: Konoha always knew her to be weak. She saw this in how they coddled her, gave empty smiles at her small accomplishments while her teammates grew to unfathomable levels. But that was going to change…she was going to grow into her family's blood limit that only appeared once every two centuries. A blood limit that would save Konoha from a new enemy. GaaSaku

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Prologue: A legend awaits…

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Teal eyes looked in the old, tattered pages with wonderment. No matter how many times her mother showed her this book, she would always be amazed by the pictures and the story. And it was a legend in Konoha, everyone knew it. But only her family had the written record of this legend. She didn't think much of it at the time, but then again, she was only concerned with showing her eagerness to be the best to her parents. The story was only something for entertainment before going to bed, a story of the tenshi kunoichi of Konoha.

As Sakura tucked her bubblegum pink hair behind her six year old ear, she gently traced the sketched picture on the stained paper with her finger. The colors had mostly faded away, but traces of green could be found in the tenshi's eyes. Bright, beautiful white wings sprouted from her back and her flowing hair touched the ground.

Sakura wished she could be so beautiful. Instead, she was teased for being smart and was called Big-Forehead Girl. Tears sprung to her eyes, making the beautiful woman blur on the page.

Sakura promised herself, even though she would never be so pretty, that she would become as powerful.

For Konoha's tenshi had saved the village two hundred years ago, even though Konoha as a hidden village hadn't been formed. Using her massive chakra and skill, she had fended off many of the demons that lurked about, even the Kyuubi, though he was not the Kyuubi at the time. He only had seven tails then. But she had single handedly defended her home, and had survived.

Until _they_ came. _They_ swarmed Konoha and the tenshi stood for a final stand-off. The battle had been long and grueling. In the end, only one enemy remained, but he ran off leaving Konoha's tenshi with mortal wounds. She died that day, and all in the village mourned, but they were safe once again.

Sakura sniffled, reminding herself that the tenshi would never cry. Never cry for it would be a show of weakness. The tenshi had to be strong for her village, for she was all that they had.

Wiping the backs of her hands across her eyes, Sakura composed herself. She glanced back down at the book and read the paragraph that always gave her a semblance of hope, hope that maybe she could be like the tenshi.

_And she, though thought of as weak before, rose above the expectations of her people. And she, though thought of a homely before, transformed into beauty divine. Eyes of emerald sparkled as she laughed and proclaimed, "My power is not from strength of body, but from strength of mind and heart. And I shall return again and again twice every four centuries passed."_

Twice every four centuries. Once every two hundred years. It had been two hundred years. And Sakura wished with all her being that maybe the legend was true and that by some stretch of the imagination, that the tenshi could be her.

But she knew better than to let her hopes lead her through life. She'd already hit a few bumps on the road known as her life. She'd always imagined herself being popular and well-liked by her classmates, and that she'd hold her own during the sparring sessions in class. Those hopes had already been shot down.

She was smart, she knew that. Her classmates knew that, and that was why they hated her. Why she was afraid to walk home by herself from school, why she played alone at home all the time. The only person that acknowledged her existence was stupid Naruto, and he wasn't helping her case with her classmates any.

Her parents were always disappointed in her hands on applications in class, but were proud of her grades. But they kept telling her that her grades meant nothing in the real world. Textbooks and classrooms were a drop of water compared to the ocean of life. She'd be drowned unless she could keep up in hand to hand combat with her classmates.

Sighing to herself, Sakura gently closed the ancient book, admiring its worn cover and bent spine. If only dreams could come true…

She looked up at the window and gasped in alarm. She was going to be late for school! It was her first day in a new gennin class! She'd heard that her new crush was going to be there, and she wanted to impress him by being there early and ready to learn.

As she sprinted out the door, the abandoned book fell to the floor from the couch she had been sitting on, opening back up to the page Sakura had been looking at.

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A/N: Good premise to start a story? Or bad? Dunno. I don't usually plan out my stories before I write them. I just start writing… Neh, I like _constructive_ criticism, so no flames. If you cannot appreciate the story, then you are free to stop reading at anytime. And do _not_ feel free to express your displeasure at my story. You've wasted both your time and mine in doing so. To end on a happier note, I love this pairing along with ShikaSaku and KakaSaku. I'm adding to the two pairings that are lacking in number of stories. This was going to be a KakaSaku, but I decided otherwise. The title wouldn't fit if she stayed in Konoha. -grins- Ja ne minna-san!


	2. The Unwilling Spectator

Breakaway

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Chapter 1: The Unwilling Spectator

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Ex-spectator  
By Fugazi

Looking out for cars and mortality trying to find some sort of geometry  
Avoiding mistakes keep an eye on every step I take  
Everything is building and it appears that you're all architects and engineers  
That's how it looks that's how it looks from here  
I'm an ex-spectator can't you see  
I'm an ex-spectator never let me, never let my, never let my vision get in the way of  
Here's some questions that the writer sent  
Can an observer be a participant?  
Have I seen too much?  
Does it count if it doesn't touch?  
If the view is all I can ascertain pure understanding is out of range  
If I make that call why can't I make that change?  
I'm an ex-spectator can't you see?  
I'm an ex-spectator never let my never let my vision get in the way of me

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Her sea-green eyes drank in her situation. Like always, they just watched. Never any suggestion of taking up arms and duking it out alongside her comrades. No, she just watched as she had always done.

She sat beneath the bush, deceiving herself into the notion that she too would step forward and get her shots in. But she knew better. She was a coward, a watcher. All she ever did was observe her teammates.

Like right now, she observed stupid Naruto and Kakashi fighting. Or, maybe it was just Naruto hopelessly trying to land anything that might be considered even a breeze on their sensei's form. Kakashi was just enjoying his perverted book, avoiding Naruto's careless swings like one avoids walking into the sides of buildings.

She didn't know where Sasuke was though. After that absolutely horrid genjutsu, Sakura was worried sick about her teammate. Not that she would ever be able to help him, but that didn't stop her from fretting about his health. All while hiding beneath her perfectly safe bush.

When the exercise finally drew to a close and stupid Naruto bound tight to a log, Sakura felt shame settle in like it always did. Kakashi chided her for being so attached to Sasuke and ignoring stupid Naruto. Well, who _wouldn't_ ignore him? Like how everyone ignored her? He was loud, annoying, and most of all, he was stupid Naruto who hit on her with his every living breath. She shot a pissed glare at Naruto who was smiling idiotically at her.

Stupid, stupid Naruto…

But what could she say for herself? At least Naruto had tried. All she'd done was watch. Always watching, always observing. Life's little spectator.

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Sakura was pissed once again. At herself and her perverted sensei.

"But Kakashi-sensei, I want to help! Please!"

The lazy jounin peered down at her from droopy eyelids. "No. Stay here and…protect Tazuna-san." He reached down and ruffled her hair affectionately, in the only way that pissed Sakura off even more.

She fought off tears once again. So she had to protect the bridge-maker huh? A sissy job for the sissy kunoichi. She clutched her hands into fists and fought off her personified fury, wanting nothing more in the world than to show her patronizing teacher that she was capable.

That she didn't just want to sit and observe. To watch as her friends got hurt. She'd rather be hurt with them. She didn't want to be protected; she wanted to be a protector. She wanted to amount to something, but no one was giving her the chance. Just because she hid the first few times, they assumed she couldn't do anything.

But Kakashi was her sensei, and their team leader. She had to obey his instructions to the T. So she angrily stepped away from Kakashi's hand and fell back next to the sheepish old man. Retreated to watch again, to observe as her friends fell in battle to protect her helpless ass, and regard her as one regards something weak. No wonder Sasuke called her annoying.

She couldn't even help herself, much less participate in battle.

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Sakura gritted her teeth and swiped messy bangs as they clung to her sweaty forehead. Messy because she had just given herself an impromptu haircut. She couldn't believe that she had done that, but this was her time.

Here, right now, she could prove her teammates and her sensei wrong. She could prove that she was equal to them, that she could fight alongside with them.

Her sea-foam green eyes clashed with blue and she growled. Ino-pig was all that stood between her and that recognition. Between being idle and making a name for herself. Her parents were about ready to disown her, frowning at the fact that in all of Team 7's adventures, nowhere did their daughter's name come up.

It was all 'Sasuke this' or 'Naruto that,' or even 'Kakashi-san did this _and_ that.' And Sakura was scared. Deep down she was terrified. Her own parents couldn't believe in her abilities. No longer was having perfect chakra control something for them to be proud of. What good was it to have good chakra control, but no way to use it usefully?

Sakura's ninjutsu and genjutsu abilities were less than that of a child's. Sure, she could dispel hard genjutsus, but she couldn't form them. She could memorize seals easily, but couldn't perform them quick enough or she couldn't find the depth of chakra needed to amplify the jutsus needed. And let's not even touch on her taijustu. This is really what had her parents reeling.

She was so bad at it, she was sure than even a non-graduated gennin could out do her.

But here, with Ino-pig, she could redeem herself. She could rise above and get everyone to look at her again. All it took was beating Ino-pig. No problem.

But deep down Sakura knew, just knew, she would fail again. That she would just end up on the sidelines again, cheering on her teammates and classmates. That once again, she'd just be an insignificant face in the crowd, indistinguishable, and easily forgotten.

And she lunged, and the minute she felt her fist make contact with Ino's head, she knew. She knew it was all for nothing, this entire struggle for a name, for recognition. Was this what Naruto felt? This sucking fear and despair from knowing people looked right through you?

And then she blacked out in her pain and heart-rending sorrow.

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Why? Why does this keep happening? Why hide? Why sit back and watch events unfold although others are dying? Getting hurt?

Sakura bit her lip. She had just snapped out of a genjutsu that had been laid over the crowd. Over the spectators. She was honestly surprised that she wasn't with them. All hell had broken loose, and she was coherent for it.

But she still couldn't do anything about her case. The ANBU in the stadium were overwhelmed, so what could a little gennin like her do to help the situation? No, she had to sit back and watch _again_. Watch as Sasuke chased down Gaara. Watch as the Third Hokage fought for his life and as Kakashi gathered up her and Naruto to follow Sasuke.

And she followed Sasuke, she followed Naruto, followed Kakashi, never leading the way, never any affirmative or preventative action; just followed.

Then she watched as Sasuke withered against Gaara, against the Shukaku. And then she felt something snap. She wouldn't watch as the Sand shinobi slaughtered her teammate. And for the first time, she moved. And was exhilarated as she saved Sasuke from the killing blow.

But terror swept through her again. Those eyes…

The half that was Gaara glared at her, and what she read in those eyes…she knew he too was struggling. Just like her. Struggling to find a name, to find recognition. And she saw in him, what she knew was growing in herself; the loathing, the hatred. And she was terrified, yet mystified.

To find someone like her. To see what she could become. And Gaara must have seen it, he had to have seen it.

Because he hesitated. He looked into her eyes and stopped, and recognition blossomed over his face. Recognition…

What did he identify? What similarity? Sakura was entranced. She wanted to know.

But she passed out yet again.

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And wouldn't she know it. Someone was underestimating her again. And it hurt once again. She was still smarting from her parent's betrayal. They had just stripped her of their family name. Sakura was no longer Haruno Sakura. Just…Sakura. She still lived with them, but after her failure to achieve chuunin her parents had been too shamed to claim her as family.

She had hoped that her friends would stay. The only ones that, though they underestimated her, did in fact _see_ her. But they were falling apart. And she was watching it happen once again.

Gone, leaving. She had faced Sasuke, begged him not to go. Used every excuse in the book to make him stay. Heck, she'd offered herself up. But nothing she could say or do was good enough for him. It wouldn't have been good enough for anyone. She was Sakura, and thus anything that came from her was substandard, to be ignored in the grand scheme of things. And it hurt that a friend would do that, brush her off so easily. All her hopes and dreams crushed once again.

She had cried, just proving that she nothing to offer.

She hadn't watched Sasuke leave, because he knocked her unconscious.

And then she had to watch as Shikamaru left with the last of her team, left with stupid Naruto, and his stupid ambitions and stupid hopes. Didn't he get it? Hopes and dreams always get crushed, always get trampled on and left in the dust. Why did he press on? He was only going to be disappointed. Just like her.

Then she watched them return, no Sasuke in hand, and all injured. She had sat in Naruto's room and watched him, observed him till he woke up. And she saw his inevitable disappointment. No matter that he tried to cover it with more promises to bring their friend and teammate back. He was tasting it, just like she was; the bitter taste of dreams gone to ashes. She'd smiled for him through tears of self-hatred for what she was doing to him. Giving him more hope, because she didn't have much more heart left to muster her own.

Then she'd left. She'd knelt before the esteemed sannin, Tsunade. And she begged. She begged to find a way to help, to rise above being a watcher. Begged to become a medic nin.

And was crushed again. And that was what did it in for her. Patronizing friends and no family. She couldn't stay. It was wrong to stay.

As Sakura wandered brokenly back into her 'home,' she eyed the dusty book sitting on the shelf. Sniffling a bit to herself, she reached up and pulled it into her hands, brushing her fingers over its worn surface. She remembered when she used to idolize this book. She remembered dreaming that one day she would be exactly like her favorite childhood story heroine. She sat down on the couch and curled up holding the book to her chest. She hadn't read it ages, and she felt foolish as she opened the aged, brittle yellow pages once again.

Her turquoise-green eyes skimmed over the words of the beginning, and she felt a little hope flare up once again.

'_Once upon a time, a little girl made a promise to herself…_'

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A/N: And end chapter one, a basis for Sakura's frame of mind in the story. I know it seems kinda rushed, and I do apologize. I'm not always the most patient person in the world, you must understand. Hehehehe…

Anyways, shout outs to my reviewers! Thank you to the following: The Squabbit, DarkAngelB, Yadi, Astaildiarfreak, Lady-Azura, and SweetAssassin.


	3. One Time Too Many

Breakaway

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Chapter 3: One Time Too Many…

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Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson

Grew up in a small town  
And when the rain would fall down  
I just stared out my window  
Dreaming of what could be  
And if I'd end up happy  
I would pray (I would pray)

Trying not to reach out  
But when I'd try to speak out  
Felt like no one could hear me  
Wanted to belong here  
But something felt so wrong here  
So I pray (I would pray)  
I could breakaway

Chorus:  
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly  
I'll do what it takes 'til I touch the sky  
I'll make a wish  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway  
Out of the darkness and into the sun   
But I won't forget all the ones that I loved  
I'll take a risk   
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway

Wanna feel the warm breeze  
Sleep under a palm tree  
Feel the rush of the ocean  
Get onboard a fast train  
Travel on a jet plane, far away (I will)  
And breakaway

Chorus

Buildings with a hundred floors  
Swinging around revolving doors  
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me but  
Gotta keep moving on, moving on  
Fly away, breakaway

I'll spread my wings  
And I'll learn how to fly  
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye  
I gotta take a risk  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway  
Out of the darkness and into the sun  
But I won't forget the place I come from  
I gotta take a risk  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway, breakaway, breakaway

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Sakura sighed as she picked up the few things left in the bare white room. How many years had it been since Sasuke ran away? Since the search party returned empty handed and in shambles?

Since the Akatsuki and Orochimaru had been defeated?

Sakura could count on two hands, but it felt like centuries ago. And life hadn't changed for her one whit in all that time. And she was getting pissed at this lack of metamorphosis. Pissed at herself, and at everyone else for being able to move on.

Oh, she had changed physically, she wouldn't deny that, but just the _sensation_ of living hadn't changed for her. Every day was the same for her, she never experienced anything new, anything special. She just watched as everyone around her progressed through life with a vigor that she couldn't figure out.

She roughly threw down the blanket she had been folding onto the wheeled metal bed in a huff. It wasn't fair. She was struggling through everyday in hopes of finding this change. An empty hope to be sure, but if that kept her alive, then she'd cling to it without question. Everyday was a disappointment, and for that she clung to the hope even harder, to afraid to give up on life yet. Everyday, she felt her apathy growing though, and that little part of her that wasn't afflicted with it yet screamed in terror at the prospect of what would happen when it finally did get swallowed. Sakura knew that she wouldn't actively seek a way out of life, but she wouldn't dodge kunai thrown in her direction either.

"Sakura."

The pink haired woman turned to face a tall man in a long white overcoat, black slacks and shoes peeking out underneath. He was rough shaven, dark-haired, dark-eyed, covered head to toe with puckered scars, and held Sakura's highest respect, for he was what she was denied to be: a medic nin. He was giving her that look again, that look she hated. It was filled with sympathy that bordered on pity.

Every year, on that same day, Sakura would kneel before Tsunade and plead. Plead for the chance to become a medic nin. The doctor standing before her had only been accepted a couple of years ago, and it pained Sakura to watch him excel.

'_That could have been me…_'

Every year she was denied. But she knew she'd come back the next to beg and plead. Sakura couldn't figure out why the Hokage kept telling her no. But Tsunade gave her that same look, that same sympathetic bordering on pity look. And it pissed her off because no one would tell her why.

Then again, Sakura had renounced her gennin title. She'd become a civilian again, but she didn't see that as a reason to be pitied. What was the use in pretending to be something you weren't? What was the use of being part of a profession that she wasn't skilled at?

Sakura locked eyes with the doctor in the doorway. He'd retired from shinobi life and was now dedicated to healing those who came back from missions. She respected him for his caring heart even after all he had seen. In reality, he should have turned out like her. He should have been apathetic or getting there. But unlike her, he had the capability to take the lemons that life gave him, and turn them into lemonade.

"Yukio-sensei. Do you require assistance?"

The tall man shook his head.

"No Sakura. I'm fine. But are you? You've been coming to work everyday for the past three months and working overtime on all those days too, plus you haven't used any of your sick or vacation days since you started working here. Is something wrong?"

Sakura plastered a fake smile on her face. Only to keep others happy did she smile. "No Yukio-sensei. I just love my job is all. Are you done for today?"

Yukio nodded, shuffling through some of the papers in his hands. After selecting a few, he handed them to Sakura.

"As I'm fairly certain you will be here late, could you complete these evaluations and send them out for me? And file the reports for the ANBU team that came in two days ago?"

Sakura nodded her head.

"Ano, have a good evening Yukio-sensei. Tell Yumi hi for me."

Yukio's face softened at the mention of his wife's name. He nodded back to Sakura, gave his goodbyes and walked down the hall.

Respected him, a _very_ grudging, envious respect. But Sakura couldn't hate him. He was good at what he did and saved shinobi lives everyday. All she really did in the hospital was arrange rooms, prep for planned surgeries and do paper work. She was a nurse of sorts. She was paid handsomely, but money wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to be important, to have a name.

But she was just Sakura.

Sighing, Sakura walked out of the hospital room, down the scrubbed white hallways to the office areas in the back. Her own long white coat brushed down at her calves onto her black slacks and low black pumps. The jacket was open to reveal an unhealthy slim figure hidden by a teal three quarter sleeve shirt. Her long pink hair was up in a messy bun, held up by numerous pens and pencils.

Having reached her destination of room ADM132, Sakura pushed the door open and flicked on the lights to reveal a spartan room. A large desk with nothing on it but a lamp, a clock, and sheaves of disorganized paper, and a simple rolling chair. The shelves on the sides held numerous medical catalogs and encyclopedias, all in varying stages of disuse.

No personality to it whatsoever, just functional.

Letting the door swing shut behind her, Sakura approach her desk and shoved the chaos of papers to either side, clearing a space for the neat stack of papers in her arms. She clicked the desk lamp on and slid the chair out, plopping down into the worn padding with no preamble.

She sat for a few seconds, just staring at the papers in front of her. She typically never saw any of the ANBU patients that came in to be treated, and it wasn't any of her business to know who they were. But Yukio-sensei had asked. It wouldn't matter if enemy nin captured her anyways. She'd welcome the pain and death they'd rain down on her pathetic form, plus it wasn't like she knew anything of use. No shinobi techniques, no blood limits, no nothing. Maybe just the address to where she lived.

Shaking her head to clear away distracting thoughts, Sakura reached up and pulled out one of the numerous writing utensils that held up her hair. With a mental sigh of resignation that pertained to never amounting to anything but a pencil pusher and a hospital maid, Sakura started on the monotonous paperwork, hoping she wouldn't find any names she knew on them.

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In the years since Sakura had initially asked to become Tsunade's apprentice, and the resulting time devoid of change for the pink-haired girl, everyone else had moved on to bigger and better things.

Naruto had finished his training with the Toad Hermit Jiraiya and landed himself as the next in line to become Hokage. Even now Tsunade was hard at work introducing the kitsune boy to the ungodly large piles of paperwork and to the nuances of politics between countries and Hidden Villages.

Naruto had also had a small bout in ANBU after passing his jounin exam. It had taken Naruto two times, but he had passed, full of sunshine and smiles. He was also engaged to Hyuuga Hinata, which had shocked the entirety of Konoha. Not because she had accepted, but because her _father_ had approved of it eagerly. Of course, some agreements and limits had been imposed. Such as Hinata would retain her clan name of Hyuuga for heir purposes.

Sasuke had been brought back to Konoha, but his mind was too far gone to save. He had managed to snap out of Orochimaru's grasp but his seal had driven him mad. The only thing he could think of clearly was that he needed to avenge his family. He had pursued the Akatsuki with an intensity that had shaken all the Hidden Villages. Sasuke had succeeded, but he had gone insane.

He snapped and tried to kill all that approached him. It had taken both Nara Shikamaru's and Yamanaka Ino's fathers to stop him. Ino's father had managed to paralyze and Shikamaru's had managed to bind the Uchiha's limbs. It had been a race to get home before their chakra died out and released a livid Sasuke.

Upon arrival, Tsunade had declared Sasuke an official missing nin and unfit for service, and accused him of treachery to Konoha. On all these grounds, Sasuke had been executed that very same day.

Sakura could have sworn that everyone in the village had breathed easier that day.

Ino had become a respectable jounin teacher for rising gennins, and occasionally dabbled in ANBU interrogations while still helping her mother with her flower shop. And she had married the tactical genius Shikamaru.

Shikamaru had become deeply involved inside of ANBU and Tsunade's close circle of advisors. Which mainly meant Shizune and Shikamaru.

Not all of Sakura's classmates had risen so high, but they had certainly made a name for themselves, which was more than the ex-Haruno could say for herself.

Now the only people who acknowledged her existence were Naruto, Hinata, and Yukio-sensei. Not even Hatake Kakashi waved at her anymore. Apparently he had become ashamed to have called her one of his students, so he now ignored her presence. That had also been one of those soul numbing blows that Sakura was quickly becoming used to.

Now Sakura just had to wait for Naruto to give up faith in her. But he was as stubborn as they came. Sakura knew she should have felt warmed that at least _someone_ cared who she was, but for some reason she felt that Naruto's caring was forced.

Che, he should just stop. He didn't owe her anything, so she didn't understand why he felt obligated to show that he gave a shit. And that aggravated Sakura the most. She'd rather be looked at in disgust than be looked at with pity or forced compassion. Nothing was worse than knowing that someone was trying to pass something off on you.

Growing weary of her reminiscing of the past few years, Sakura groaned as she sat up from her fretful sleep on her desk. Noting that she had completed the paperwork while avoiding names, Sakura collected the paper and walked to the door, not caring for her appearance. She'd go home right after taking turning in her work, then go home, tidy up, and return for another shift.

She strutted with a blank look down the hallway until she reached the nurse's station. With little preamble she began to sort the papers into their appropriate folders and cabinets. She was surprised to hear a female voice call her name. Only Yukio-sensei bothered to talk to her. The other nurses avoided her because Sakura was apparently 'neurotic.' Che…just apathetic.

Looking up, Sakura was even more surprised, to the point where her eyebrow quirked up in question. Standing there, looking guilty and ashamed stood Tsunade.

"Hokage-sama. Do you require something?" Sakura couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice while addressing Tsunade. All the years of rejection were beginning to add up.

"Sakura-chan. I need to speak with you."

Sakura halted her sorting and gave the medic her full, undivided attention, making sure Tsunade could look into her eyes and see every disappointment she had ever suffered.

She was gratified to see Tsunade gulp, but Sakura took this to also be bad sign.

"Sakura-chan, you can't work here anymore." The Hokage met a blank, unfeeling visage at those words. Groping for words to keep the dialogue going, she moved on to explain. "Yukio-kun has brought it to my attention that you've not taken any time off in the past few _years_ and that you have become increasingly unhealthy."

Tsunade pointed to the ribs which were beginning to show from beneath Sakura's teal shirt.

"You've become very unstable over all this time and I'm afraid to say that I cannot have you working in a place like this. You'd be a hazard to the patients in your mental and physical condition."

Sakura felt the workings of true anger rising in her chest. She hadn't felt such rage since Naruto had tried to kiss her when she was four. So she wasn't taking care of herself? Should it concern Tsunade unless her performance had decreased noticeably during that period of time? Sakura knew for a fact that her performance over all these years had been above the norm, and that they had not declined in any way.

But all Sakura could manage in acknowledging this horrific turn of events was a nod. Without giving her rage a chance to lash out, Sakura turned walked calmly out the front door, leaving the paperwork strewn all about at the nurse's desk.

So Yukio-sensei had turned on her? No surprise really. As Sakura cleared the bottom of the stairs that led up to the hospital, she felt tears rise up in her eyes and anger fill her chilled heart. That was the last thing she had to call her own, and she had been cast out.

Then a thought entered Sakura's mind. If she could get away, and join another village, she could start off anew. Granted that she'd be very old by shinobi standards, but maybe she could jumpstart her life elsewhere.

Anything was better than this place. Here she was reminded at every turn that she was a failure. She was Sakura of no family name or clan, an orphan and outcast of Konoha. And because Sakura was no longer an official ninja, she was free to leave at anytime. No one would stop her or hunt her down as a missing nin.

It's not like she had anyone or anything to stay for. Her last tie had just been severed upon walking out the hospital door. Her last hope of reviving and making her name stand out again amongst her peers. Tsunade had been that hope, being a medic had been that hope. And it was gone. And now, Sakura would be also, and she knew no one would notice. At least, not until Naruto said something. And he had just left on a two week mission three days ago. She had that long to high-tail to somewhere else.

But where to?

A set of devastated green eyes flashed through Sakura's eyes, and she knew.

-------------------------------

Green eyes flashed in severe annoyance as he listened to blonde in front of him prattle endlessly. It had been like this for the past couple of years, her irritating talk of politics and his staring impassionedly at her until she ran out of steam and stomped angrily out of the room.

It was a daily ritual he was growing tired of. And patience was something he prided himself in now. He hadn't killed anyone since the first failed chuunin exam, and that was saying something.

But today, the blonde was being especially irritating. But at least she had the grace to be uncomfortable discussing the subject at hand.

The red head looked up boredly from his seat behind his desk. His head was propped up on an arm.

"Gaara-kun, you must do this! It is in the best interest for Wind Country and for the Hidden Village of the Sand. Please, Kazekage-sama!"

Gaara blinked and rolled the thought around his head. Temari almost never addressed him like that, much less beg him for anything. And she never led him wrong as an advisor, so what she must be asking was very important.

But that still didn't make him like the idea.

"Temari-chan, no. You may think that I am ready for such things, but this village still hasn't recovered fully from the wreckage caused by that Leaf freak when he rampaged after his missing brother. I don't have time for such trivialities, nor do I believe that anyone could tolerate me in such a capacity. The only reason no one questions my position is because they all fear me. I don't want to take a wife who is only with me out of terror."

"I know Gaara, I know. But that doesn't change the sentiments of the village or other villages. The only Hidden Village that isn't pushing the matter is the Leaf, but that is because Tsunade-sama refuses just like you and just like the Leaf's last Hokage. And an arrangement could strengthen relations with less than amiable allies."

Gaara shook his head.

"Don't even think about it until this village is stable again. We're bordering on not having a village at all. Those two sharingan siblings wiped out a good half of our shinobi, and we need to reestablish a base to make sure there still is a village to have negotiations with. It would be horrible on our part to enter a deal only to have the village disperse. Focus here first, then we will worry about external relations. We have the support of the Leaf, but it is up to us to get this village off its knees. The Leaf will not hand us shinobi, nor would I expect them too. Is my point across Temari?"

Temari nodded dumbly at Gaara's soft, yet emotionless logic. She hadn't thought about that. Rebuilding was taking some time, for training new shinobi to a respectable level was a difficult and long process. It would be a few years until their chuunin ranks were refilled again, and even longer to get the jounin levels up and to set up an ANBU squad.

Pretty much the only things keeping this village together was Gaara's watchful eye and their relations with the Leaf.

"Yes Gaara. I will send out scrolls to those parties interested as to your logic behind this situation."

"See that you do Temari. Dismissed."

Gaara snorted in his mind as he watched his sister leave the room. Why did they pick him to become their new Kazekage? He didn't know, but he thought his sister better suited to the job. She was unscrupulous when it came to treaties with other villages.

In the back of his mind, he felt the Shukaku stalking about, pressing his limits. The tanuki was pissed at Gaara's complete control over him. All Gaara ever heard from him was death treats and name calling. Something he had endured his whole life, and wanted nothing more than to end it.

But now he had a village that depended on him so his escape was effectively blocked. Gaara wanted nothing more than to get away and start his whole life over, find the happiness he had missed, and learn to live like a real person. Live like the happy people he saw walking the streets of the Sand, budding with joy at a fresh start. He wanted that, but he was still trapped in the past.

Everyone still regarded him with fear and hidden shame. Regarded him as one would regard a monster. And he was isolated and reminded of something that was not his fault every day. He wanted out, but was trapped.

-------------------------------------

Sakura surveyed her sparse apartment with something akin to shock. It was because she was amazed at the amount of apathy she felt about parting with the hard-earned collection of rooms. It had been where she lived for quite a while.

She was even more amazed at the lack of personal things that she wanted to bring. All her stuff mainly comprised of her old shinobi equipment that she hadn't used up yet, some clothing, food, water, and one picture. It was the picture of her gennin team. She hated the memories that picture represented, and that was the very reason she couldn't part with it.

It was there to remind her of where she failed, and was there to motivate her to go beyond what that little pathetic girl in the picture was capable of. The little girl who put too much faith into hopes, dreams, and other people.

And then there was the book. She couldn't part with the book either. It was a cushion every time she fell. It gave her hope. An unfounded hope she knew, but a hope nonetheless. If not for her, then for any children she might have, for two hundred years was coming up or had already passes.

She stared at the backpack that held all her belongings. She had sent a note to the landowner to go ahead and sell all the furniture and items left behind. She'd also sent a note out to Tsunade stating that she officially cut ties with the Leaf Village with civilian rights.

Casually, she hefted the backpack, grunting a bit under the weight. She hadn't trained since she resigned being a shinobi. There was no reason to, but she wished she had least maintained what little taijutsu she had. She knew the journey would be long and hard, and that it would be even harder to get access into her target destination. But because she was not kunoichi nor a missing nin, it was possible. If they did not let her in, then she would perish in the country side.

She moved quickly, and with a quietness that surprised her after all this time. Leaping across buildings and dredging up the long-unused chakra to accomplish the now daunting task took a few tries to perform properly. Sakura found that her chakra reserves had diminished to an alarmingly small amount. She'd only last about ten minutes at this rate.

Deciding that making it past the gates was the only real concern at the moment, Sakura put the small amount of chakra to use, speeding up in hopes of leaping over the wall before anyone noticed.

Her chakra control was still immaculate though, so Sakura knew she could draw her small reserve out to its fullest extent. With the night covering her movement, Sakura made her surprisingly easy escape.

No scuffle, no pleadings not to go, no demands to go, no nothing. Proof that the Leaf could care less about what happened to one of its ex-shinobi. But Sakura didn't care anymore, and she wouldn't let their apathy augment hers. She was gone, she'd broken free.

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A/N: And hold until next chapter. –grins- But I've so much fanmail to answer! –swoons- Thank you to the following reviewers:

**The Squabbit-** Are you a consumer of all things sugary and caffeinated? –snickers-

**EnV-** Thank you!

**SweetAssassin- **It's a rather angsty story, but we'll see won't we?

**DarkAngelB-** I can't write action scenes to save my sorry life, so there probably won't be one…but once again, we'll see.

**Marsgoddess1-** Thank you!

**The Sound of Mariachi Bands-** Thank you!

**Lady-Azura-** Thank you!

**kamilog-** …calm, easy there. I can only write so fast. –sweat drops- But thank you!

**em chan-** Thank you!

**shamantic cherry-** It would be wouldn't it?

**Pandora loves you!-** -smiles- Thank you.

**So-kun-** Maybe…My other fic she's like a freaking super woman, so I'm trying to tone her down in this one and stay closer to where she might actually be. It hurts because I like her as a character so very much. –cheers for Inner Sakura-


	4. A Journey and Lesson in Apathy

Breakaway

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Chapter 3: A Journey and Lesson in Apathy

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"Avail"- Fifth Wheel

Tripped all over my friends at once as they were starting to unwind

Had a feeling I was losing 'cause as they moved along I was falling far behind

I've got a frame full of good intentions that I left back at home to rot

Thought that to stay underground and go streamline I'd be strong, now I know I'm not

Every day's a week now a search for identity

The ground below my feet has got the best of me and I'm tired of always changing

I'm tired of being seen

The path is leading homeward bound, only God knows where I've been

I got sick of all my friends at once as they were starting to unwind

Had a feeling I was losing 'cause as they moved along I was falling far behind

----------------------

The dark was well settled in and the forest seemed to be alive, with the hoots of owls, the rushes of air as bats swooped down to collect buzzing insects. Every once in a while, the startled flight of a deer could be heard as it leapt gracefully away from danger.

Not that Sakura was a threat of any sort.

She barely had enough chakra to form a dispelling on genjutsu, nor the stamina to run more than seventy yards or so. She couldn't hurt something if her life depended on it.

After leaping over the outer wall of Konoha, which she deemed to be an incredible task considering her severe lack of stealth, Sakura walked along a thin, barely visible deer trail, hoping to encounter some water soon.

If she remembered one thing, it was that it was hard to track some one who traveled by water, and that even Kiba and Akamaru would have problems tracking her scent.

But once again, she was giving herself too much credit.

Konoha wouldn't notice her absence for the few days it took for Tsunade to receive her notice. Until that time, she was safe. And even then, what nin village sent out shinobi after useless civilians?

She knew there was no reason to attempt evasion. No one was going to come after her and beg her to come back.

After she had been kicked out of the hospital that had become apparent.

'_Like I care…I was bored with my job anyways…nothing new ever came of it besides getting fired._'

Sakura stared vacantly down at where her feet were padding softly on the loamy ground. The leaves there made no sound due to the dew that was beginning to collect on them. The dew that accelerated their rate of decay, giving the Konoha forest its woodsy smell.

Shifting her sight from the trail, Sakura raised her eyes to the sky, feeling a keening disappointment that it wasn't cloudy and that it wasn't storming angrily.

Even the weather ignored her. The night was bright and life kept going on, whether she wanted it to or not.

But she couldn't bring herself to care too much. The weather was like everyone in Konoha. If it chose to ignore her plight, then so be it. Not like she could control the weather or anything.

Nothing to her. Not a name, not a family, not a friend, not a care.

Apathy was growing, and that little part of her that felt disappointment at the blatant ignorance of the weather was screaming a little louder, struggling to keep from being swallowed alive by a blanket of consuming emptiness and numbness.

And she ignored it. Paying it any attention, listening to its pleas only caused her to kill it more when everything went wrong all over again.

Turning her thoughts from her locked away inner drive and emotion, Sakura concentrated on the sounds of the forest that surrounded her, in the hustle and bustle that was night life.

The sounds soon lulled her into a blank daze, her gaze empty and emotionless as it stared unfocused at the ground a few feet in front of her.

An undisclosed amount of time flew by as Sakura drifted in her numb subconscious.

She was broken from it as her foot struck a shallow stream, sending cool droplets of water onto the pale skin of her legs.

She glanced down at it with the look of someone who had never seen such a thing before, but couldn't care less.

Which she didn't besides the fact that this was what she had been looking for last night.

Last night meaning that the sun was glaring through the leaves at the tree tops, casting a green cover over everything in the area, except where there were no leaves to be struck.

Sakura had been traveling in a comatose state all night, and she could feel the effects of her endeavor.

Her feet had gained blisters from the rubbing and chafing of her shoes, her leg muscles screamed at her to sit down for a few hours and work out their cramps, her neck hurt for reason's she didn't know.

And she had a raging thirst, and was feeling hungry.

Deciding to obey the demands of her body for the moment, Sakura sat down at the edge of the stream and removed her sweaty top and shoes.

Inspecting her feet, she found they were swollen with blisters as big as coins on her heels and on the balls of her feet. Numerous blisters were on the tops of her toes and along outside of her foot.

Reaching into her pack, Sakura pulled out an unused shirt and ripped it into small strips which were going to be used to wrap up her feet. After completing that task, she proceeded to pull out a small bit of food and her canteen. She feasted until the morsel of food was gone, then packed her canteen away.

She soon stripped off her slightly sweaty remainder of clothes, and scooted until she was sitting in the cold flowing water. She lay down and let the liquid suck away her warmth and numb her body to match her drowning soul.

Her aches slowly disappeared, and satisfied that she would be able to continue her trek, she sat back up and scooted back onto land. She let her body air dry for a few minutes before wrapping her feet, dressing, and standing back up.

After shrugging her back pack onto her shoulders, she strutted back into the water and began to follow the gentle curves that it carved out of the land.

Even the day was mocking her state, she observed.

Songbirds were trilling joyfully everywhere and could be seen through the leaves of the canopy dancing on gusts of air. They would loop, dodge, and feint everywhere, like some part of a large planned choreography. The sun was brilliantly set like some fiery jewel in the cloudless sky, flashing merrily at every turn.

She felt that she should be sneering at it for its mockery, but the will just wasn't in her to do so. It was the expectation of feeling an emotion, like it was a ghost possessing her, that she felt, not the emotion itself.

Instead she just kept walking, not paying attention to her surroundings anymore. She'd trekked through these woods enough that she wasn't concerned about finding herself walking back to Konoha.

From what she could tell, she was a day or two away from the edge of the forest, and from there it would be a few days of crossing over savanna before she reached the edge of the desert. Suna actually wasn't that far away from the edge of the desert. It was closer than most people thought, only a half a days travel until you encountered rock formations where the hidden village was sequestered away.

It would be about a week of increasing temperatures and less shade before she arrived at her destination. This was assuming no one interrupted her travels, which was one of those annoying occurrences that always happened when you didn't want them to.

Stupid traveling. Stupid Naruto will probably cause it. Trouble followed the idiot blonde, and he had an awful habit of following her around. By process of association, trouble then followed Sakura around.

Stupid Naruto…somehow this is his fault.

Distantly amused at her abuse of the Kyuubi, Sakura moved on, water splashing up her legs and wetting the bottom of her black capris.

That little part of her hoped that her final destination, and her last hope at reviving her self, would prove to be a success.

If not, Sakura would wither away in the middle of desert, completely broken. The little voice in the back of her mind would give one last scream at the injustice of it all before dying, taking her will to live with it.

She didn't really want to think about it, but the prospect seemed disturbingly interesting. She realized that her humor had taken a very morbid turn, finding death and suffering entertaining to observe or think about.

Her own situation seemed insanely hilarious to her. How much more pathetic could she be? Not much, but she lacked to motivation beyond her little journey to make the change. She needed someone to command her on what to do, order her to change her mind.

So far, no one in Konoha had tried to do that. Instead, they had left Sakura to fester in her own dark emotions and thoughts until they started to kill her off little by little, consuming all that was in her heart and mind, leaving a large blank space where her soul used to reside.

So she traveled on, floating in a vacant space devoid of emotion.

----------------------------

Gaara leered down at the shinobi kneeling in front of him. It had been a week since Temari had notified surrounding countries and hidden villages of his logic behind refusing marriage at the moment.

And one thing he hated most was having his wishes ignored. Who was stupid enough to ignore him anyways, besides idiot Naruto? Much less protest.

Gaara reminded himself not to kill the messenger. The poor man looked terrified and terribly guilty about his village's leader.

"I must apologize for my Kage, great Kazekage. He is very old and set in tradition, and believes that both you and the Hokage are in need of guidance. But he insists that you take a wife effective immediately. That an alliance set up by a union would help rebuild you village."

Gaara snarled, his tired eyes snapping with rage at being told what to do.

"It would do your Kage well to govern his own village before governing mine or Konoha. The Hidden Village of Sand _will_ rebuild, but without outside help. We do have techniques that are specific to our area, and we will not divulge them just because your old geezer of a Kage can't mind his own business and leave people alone! Get out of my sight right now and tell him that Gaara, Kazekage of the Sand, refuses his 'generous offer' and that we will rebuild on our own!"

The young shinobi didn't need to be told twice and fled the office, terror rolling off of him in almost tangible waves. He knew all to well what Gaara of the Sand was capable of. The young man almost cried when his Kage demanded that he deliver the message. He was tasked only because he was the quickest in the village, using connecting shadows to move through the country side up until he hit the desert.

He sprinted past a blonde with four ponytails, who shook her head in exasperation as she walked calmly to the office door.

There she found a fuming Gaara, though it wasn't very physically apparent. Instead, she read it in his eyes as they sparked angrily at her, and it showed in his slightly hunched shoulders and tense stance.

"Gaara, did you threaten to kill the poor boy? He looked like he crapped his pants, he left in such a hurry."

Gaara openly scowled at his sister.

"No, I didn't threaten to kill the messenger. Instead I just called his Kage all sorts of mean things and gave him the message to tell the old geezer to mind his own damn village and business. He seems to think that we can't stand on our own and never will. Idiot."

Temari smirked at her younger brother's behavior, not phased in the least by his potent irritation.

"All right Gaara, I trust you. Where was the messenger from? And what did their Kage want, _exactly_."

The red head's eyes bore down on his sibling, just wishing that looks could kill. But they did not, so he was obligated to answer her question.

"Harassment on _that_ subject. Apparently he already has some females lined up for me to choose from. He's going to press his daughter though."

A shudder ran through Gaara's form. The messenger was forced to bring photos of all the females that were up for choosing. The tanuki container could stomach all but one of the photos. His sand had even reacted badly upon sight.

The woman was slightly overweight, but had a decent even dark shade of skin. It was the face that was the kicker for him. He'd never thought it possible to have eyes spaced that far apart, plus one repulsive hazel eye faced only in one direction. Her hair looked greasy and limp, further repulsing the Kazekage.

Temari saw the shudder rip through her younger brother and could only marvel that there was something out there that repulsed him that much. Gaara feared nothing, but apparently, this female scared the shit out of him.

"That bad huh?"

Gaara snarled.

"Kami must have made a mistake placing her on this earth. I don't even think her mother loved her."

He thrust out a clenched hand toward the blonde.

"If you can unwrinkle that photo, you'll see what I'm talking about. But wait until I depart the room. If I could sleep, I'd have nightmares about what is on that piece of paper."

Temari accepted the crumpled bit of trash and glanced back and forth from it to her brother in a confused and amused way.

'_Who'da thunk it? Gaara afraid…this'll make such great blackmail! Maybe he'll pay more attention to what I have to say from now on!_'

The Suna ruler glanced at the look of glee that was slowly creeping over his sibling's visage, and felt growing unease. He didn't like that look at all, it meant bad things coming from his sister who, in her own right, was insane.

"I'm leaving now…don't plan anything. Any attempts to debase me will be met with unrestrained violence."

Temari just kept smiling.

"Have a good day brother! I'll see you around!"

With the dismissal, Gaara walked out of his office completely disgruntled, intent on talking a walk around the outer boundaries of the village to attempt to clear his mind of old geezer, ugly brides, and psychotic, plotting sisters.

It was going to be a long walk…

--------------------------------------------

Her water had run out about two days ago, and her skin was a blazing red, blisters covering every inch of her body that was exposed to light. Some scrapes and gashes covered her arms and legs from not paying attention to where she was walking. Some of the worse ones had been bandaged, but blood was slowly seeping up to the surface.

She could barely think straight much less walk straight. She stumbled every couple of steps, but for the most part caught herself before she fell.

The sand was making the task of staying upright even more daunting. Lucky her that the dunes didn't start up until almost the middle of the desert.

She licked her cracked lips for the hundredth time, knowing that it wasn't going to achieve anything except dehydrating herself some more.

She had crossed into the desert about five hours ago, so she knew she was drawing closer to her destination, so close that she could spy the tell-tale rocky outcroppings. But she didn't know how much longer she had until she passed out.

It would be easier just to pass out because patrolling shinobi would pick her up. That is, Konoha shinobi would. She wasn't so sure about Sand.

Not to mention that Sand probably couldn't afford to set up patrols. All available shinobi would be out on paying missions or tutoring new shinobi. Not patrolling the area.

So if she hoped to make it there, the only reliable way to get there was herself.

Grunting as she misstepped, she fell forward onto her stomach, biting back hisses of pain as sand worked its way into her wounds, into open blisters. She was fairly sure that she was running a high fever, but she couldn't tell in all this heat.

As she gathered her strength to stand up once again, her eyes caught a figure growing in the distance among the distorting heat waves rising from the sand. At least she thought it was a real person. This time.

She'd already had about five hallucinations of someone walking up toward her. One she could have sworn was Naruto. Another was a bloody and insane Sasuke. She didn't really feel anything upon seeing them, but felt a vague surprise that her mind would conjure such strange things.

The blurry figure she saw now had red hair and was wearing exceptionally dark clothing for being out in the desert heat.

As the figure started to resolve itself, Sakura realized that the figure was a real person and that they were making their way toward her in hurried steps.

The last thing she saw was a pair of jade eyes swathed in black, flashing with recognition and surprise.

Funny, they seemed full of emotion, nothing like how she remembered.

How oddly…disappointing.

--------------------------------

Gaara had sensed weak, struggling chakra not far off during his walk on the border side of Suna. He had almost let it slip by, not wanting anymore harassment in his already ruined day.

But something was familiar about that chakra, though it seemed greatly reduced than would be normal.

Debating with his conscience, he finally caved and stalked irritably toward the dying chakra. It wasn't becoming of his status to just leave someone to perish if he could help it.

As he drew closer, he picked up his speed, not quite believing what he was glimpsing. He'd only met one person in all his travels that had that shade of pink hair.

It was the Haruno girl from Konoha, the one who had almost thrown her own life away to save the psycho that destroyed his village.

In those few seconds that they had held eye contact, he'd flashed back to where he'd seen that pain before. Such pain to rival his own, who had never suffered physically all his life, but suffered from social deprivation.

It had shocked him to the core, but he didn't let himself dwell on it, wanting to finish off the pest that had dared to lay a hand on him. Only to have the blonde brat interfere also.

But he was grateful for the intervention. It had allowed him to get closer to his siblings and also shocked him a little bit from his cynical views on the world. Not completely, one-hundred-eighty degree changed his outlook, but made him look closer at the reason why some of the people acted the way they did, and two allow for _one_ second chance.

Temari just ended up calling him a wuss whenever it happened. Told him he was going soft.

Feh. Soft, as if.

Turning back to look at the fallen kunoichi, he was frozen in place once again by her sea green eyes.

They didn't even hold pain anymore. They were just dead.

And the feeling he felt sweeping through him was one he had never felt before.

It was dread.

How oddly…disorienting.

----------------------------------------

She felt the pain hovering above her in unconsciousness, and wanted nothing more than to stay deep in the comforting numbness and blackness that was her mind.

How nice it would be to just stay there…not a care in the world.

Not that even in the real world she cared. Rain or shine, black or white, she couldn't bring herself to care.

But something was tugging her to the surface, to the pain and bright light. To a world that didn't care for her existence one way or the other. To people who called themselves her friends, but really didn't feel anything but pity.

Every smile for pity, not even sympathy was dragged up for her.

And their treatment of her, broke her soul and broke her will.

So why was she letting them pull her back if they didn't care?

Maybe because this was a punishment. She must have done something horribly wrong in another life and this was her repentance. Her punishment. To suffer.

Biting back a groan, she blinked slowly into conciousness, slowly waiting for her mind to properly piece together all of the shapes and colors into something coherent.

All she met was white.

----------------------------------------

A/N: And end this chapter. Good, poor editing? Rushed, not descriptive enough? Oh, and sorry for the Naruto bashing, it may disappear later. After all, our favorite Kitsune container did give a lot, and he really does care. Anyways, shout out to my homie reviewers:

**The Squabbit**- Just a little bit easily readable. I'm sure that all the caps, exclamation marks, and hurried typing had nothing to do with it. –sweatdrops- but thank you! I enjoy reading your replies. –grins-

**Silent Kunoichi**- O.K.H.U.G. (OKay. Here U Go.) –smiles wickedly-

**Lady-Azura**- Thank you.

**EnV**- There. She met Gaara. Both seem to be a bit disappointed…hrmm. Well, thanks for the review!

**WolfRainSS**- See Hao'sAnjul (look below –points-)

**Krista**- err…okay…I guess I won't take this as a flagrant flame…thanks…

**Hao'sAnjul**- Mehbeh…mehbeh not…up to how cruel I feel like being.

**xXxAllMySinsxXx**- Thank you much!

**LadyJasmine282**- Thank you.

**Green24**- Thank you.

**The warmth of the Afterglow**- Thank you! Such praise inflates my ego. Don't do it too much. –sniggers- But really, thanks.

**DarkAngelB**- Not much more behind the Tsunade thing. They honestly though Sakura might go postal on the patients with the way she was acting. But you're right, we shall see.

**QuicksilverWitch**- Thank you.

**Yokaigurl**- Thank you!

**marise-chan**- Thank you. It is meant to be _very_ angsty.

**ShadowKitsune-Sama**- Here it is.


	5. Unwanted Changes

**Breakaway**

----------------------

Disclaimer: Look at the first chapter.

----------------------

Chapter 4: Unusual Changes

----------------------

"Changes" by 3 Doors Down

I'm not supposed to be scared of anything,  
But I don't know where I am  
I wish that I could move but I'm exhausted  
And nobody understands (how I feel)

I'm tryin' hard to breathe now,  
But there's no air in my lungs.  
There's no one here to talk to  
And the pain inside is making me numb.

I try to hold this under control,  
They can't help me, cause no one knows.

Now I'm goin' through changes, changes.  
God, I feel so frustrated lately.  
When I get suffocated, save me.  
Now I'm goin' through changes, changes

Feelin' weak and weary  
Walkin' through this world alone  
Everything they say every word of it  
Cuts me to the bone, (and I bleed)

I've got something to say  
But now I've got nowhere to turn  
It feels like I've been buried  
Underneath all the weight of the world.

I try to hold this under control,  
They can't help me, cause no one knows.  
Now I'm goin through changes, changes  
God, I feel so frustrated lately

When I get suffocated, save me.  
Now I'm goin' through changes, changes

I'm blind and shakin', bound and breakin'  
I hope I'll make it, through all these changes.

Now I'm going through changes, changes  
God I feel so frustrated, lately  
When I get suffocated, save me.  
Now I'm falling apart, now I feel it.

But I'm going through changes, changes.  
God I feel so frustrated, lately.  
And I get suffocated, I hate this.  
But I'm going through changes, changes.

----------------------

Gaara knew he was acting most abnormal. Temari didn't need to keep harassing him about it. At least he was still doing all of his damn paperwork. He didn't understand why the blonde insisting of bugging him if he was doing what she normally pestered him about.

Gaara didn't think it was _that_ abnormal that he hadn't left Sakura's side since he brought her to their hospital. But by the odd looks he was receiving from the staff, he was starting to change his mind. Of course, he could give them his patented 'glare of death' and they would leave him be.

Could he be a good Kazekage by using fear to keep his people in line? He thought so but Temari, one of the few people that could make Gaara uneasy, didn't think so. So he just treated the populace with indifference.

Terrorizing the idiots would be so much more satisfying than enduring their looks. He'd been stared and glared at enough in his lifetime. He didn't particularly want it continue.

People were cruel. It wasn't his choice that he was born this way, but everyone still seemed to blame him. People were cruel. They broke the spirit and will of the female laying before him, and from what he could see, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her for them to have done so.

The Kazekage sighed and ran a hand through his unruly red hair. A cut was in order soon.

His musings were broke as the pink haired girl before him began to scream in what looked to be the most complete pain. Every muscle in her body contracted at once, arching her back off of the sterile white sheets, stiffening her limbs.

To his well hidden surprise and now horror, he saw those very same muscles beginning to shift around. Especially the muscles around her shoulders, going around to her back.

He could only sit there and feign not caring as nurses rushed in shouting for one of the medic nins to come and take care of the crisis. Was this some sort of new and sick ninjutsu or genjutsu?

The girl had stopped her screaming, but her teeth were clenched together so tight, he was almost sure they would shatter from the pressure. Her small, delicate hands were clenching the sheet beneath her with desperation.

_**Kukuku…pain…it suits her…suits our happiness…kill her. Put her out of her misery.**_

Gaara snarled in his mind as the Shukaku made his presence known. And it had been behaving itself lately too.

He could feel it watching Sakura with glee as the girl writhed in bone deep pain. The muscles were shifting ever so slowly, as if the pain were deliberate.

The chief medic nin had arrived a few seconds ago and started his assessment on the Haruno. He just looked baffled now, shaking his head to show that he didn't know what was going on with the girl.

The medic turned and looked at Gaara.

"Kazekage-sama. Might you know what is wrong?"

Gaara didn't respond at first. He just sat and stared with disturbing intensity at the body that was twisting and warping in ways that bodies were not supposed to. He was beating the Shukaku back into submission, quenching the bloodlust that was quickly rising.

He finally turned his eerie jade eyes to the doctor.

"If I knew, would you think that I would have told you before now? I've never seen anything like this before, so you know as much as I do. And would you at least give the girl a pain killer! Are you sadistic or something you good for nothing medic!"

The medic leapt away in surprise and fear, quickly leaving the room to go and retrieve some medicine.

The remaining nurses continued to stare at Sakura in poorly disguised fear, curiosity, and fear. Gaara's hackles rose at their blatant looks.

He audibly snarled at the women, baring his teeth. "Quit gawking and do your damn jobs before something happens that you might regret."

The nurses quickly dispersed out of the room, wanting nothing to do with their homicidal leader and his unpredictable behavior. That did not however, prevent then from wondering and whispering about possible reasons that kept the bijuu next to the pink haired stranger and how he knew her.

The Kazekage had no friends, just siblings. Was she related to him?

There was no way in hell she was a lover. Who besides family could love a monster?

Gaara watched as the doctor returned to the room with a filled needle. He looked worriedly at his Kazekage, then at his silently screaming charge.

"Kazekage-sama, I must warn you about what I am about to give the girl. You seem to have taken the role of her guardian due to her incapacity to give answer."

Gaara shot the medic a look telling him to quit wasting time and to get to the point.

"This drug will relax her muscles a little bit as they shift around and it will relieve her pain completely. It would be possible to set her aflame and she wouldn't be able to tell. The problem is that there is a chance that the drug can kill her nervous system, leaving her paralyzed. A very high chance. It also causes the user to become addicted after the first use. We can lower the chances of her paralysis, but we would require your help and patience. You have the largest chakra store in Suna, and exquisite control-"

Gaara fumed. The man was practically groveling at his feet, showering his Kazekage with compliments to get into favor.

"Dammit! Just get to your point before _I_ stab you with that needle!"

The doctor paled considerably and looked terrified, but nodded his head.

"We need you to learn a special jutsu that was made especially for this medicine. It will regularly pull the drug from the pain receptors before they become stuck permanently. The user needs perfect control so as to manipulate the extremely small compounds. The chakra store is needed for how long she will be using this drug and large amount we will be placing in her. We only typically use this on one limb, but this is for her entire body. Please Kazekage, we need you to this. You are ideal to help her right now."

Gaara just nodded, having calmed himself down, but not before splintering the arm of the raggedy chair he was sitting in.

"What are the seals and how do I manipulate the chakra?"

The doctor nodded gravely and proceeded to teach his Kazekage medical jutsu.

----------------------

The white place…it hurt so much…and her body. What was happening to her body!

She could feel her muscles twisting and reforming in the area of her back, concentrating around her shoulder blades.

Then there was Inner Sakura. She wasn't helping her case _at all_.

'_Hurts a bitch don't it? That's what you get for ignoring me all these years! Pushing me back, trying to extinguish me. What were you thinking? You need me as much as I need you, which is more that I care to admit._'

Sakura growled at her second personality.

"I ignored you because if I didn't I would have killed you more wore quickly. I do want you around as much as I hate your guts. You represent everything that I am not."

Inner Sakura fumed at her host, reaching out and slapping Sakura across her face.

'_I **am**__you! You just refuse to accept me as a part of you, so I am forced to be an alternate personality. I hold secrets and powers that would astound everyone around you! You just need to assimilate me! Accept me, quit pushing me away. It kills me to watch you do this to yourself. Please! Just for once, embrace me!_'

Inner Sakura was now crying softly, her arms held out in front of her, actually wanting the hug.

Sakura turned away from the proffered embrace, coldness and numbness suddenly surrounding her, entering her.

"No. I cannot embrace you. You are not me. You are just a figment of my imagination and the product of crushed dreams. You are a reminder of why I am the way I am. I'm going now."

Inner Sakura dropped to the ground of the dreamscape, tears pouring down her cheeks in anguish. Her body slumped and shook with sobs, her hands clenched against the ground.

'_Please…don't do this to us…don't do this to yourself…you are so much more than you realize, than you care to admit. Just accept me._'

As Sakura began to drift from her mind to reality, a flash of light caused her to look back at her inner companion, and shock filled her.

It couldn't be…

----------------------------------

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with white again, only this white was not as complete. It was a ceiling.

She blinked her eyes a couple of times trying to remember what had happened that had landed her in a white room.

The last thing she remembered was a pair of jade eyes.

Ah, she must have passed out. The owner of those eyes must have brought her here. She turned her head to the side to get a better look at her surrounding.

The first thing she saw was the owner of those jade eyes, sitting cross legged in a chair, his eyes closed and hands held in front of his face in a seal.

She opened her mouth to say something when a voice spoke out from behind the young man.

"I wouldn't interrupt him. He's the reason you're mobile right now."

A tall young man stepped in from the doorway, smiling happily down at her.

Sakura just stared blankly at him.

"What is wrong with me that would require Gaara-san to take care of me?"

The medic nin immediately became uncomfortable. No one said the Kazekage's name, especially without a –sama attached. The only people who didn't were his family Temari and Kankuro. And here was this strange pink-haired girl who was referring to him as such.

"It's Kazekage-sama. And he's repeatedly pulling an anesthetic from your pain receptors before they become permanently blocked and you lose the ability to move. It takes intense concentration, so interrupting him would not be in your best interest at this time until the medication is completely removed from your system."

Sakura noticed that he had completely avoided answering her question. Her sea-green eyes pinned him.

"Answer my question. What is wrong with me?"

The doctor looked down at her, a look of being lost crossing his face.

"The problem is that I don't know. Not even two hours ago your body started to tense up, every muscle stiffening. Then certain muscles started to shift about in your back, rearranging your musculature. It oddly resembles that of a bird's. We can't tell why though. No such thing has happened before."

Sakura looked disbelieving.

"A bird's? How would you know this?"

The medic sighed to himself, a light blush covering his cheeks.

"I dabble in veterinary medicine also, and I am fascinated with the way avians are built. They are unique to most animals here on the planet, with hollow bones and specially designed muscles. In fact, to be honest, your new musculature mimics that of a swan's."

Sakura's eyebrow arched in response to his answer, indifferent disbelief still apparent on her features.

"So have my bones hollowed too? Am I going to be eating bird seed anytime soon, or have I not mutated enough for that?"

The medic nin was now flushed with anger. How dare she mock him! He was telling the truth! He snorted, but turned to answer her ridiculous question.

"Your bones _did_ become less dense, but I don't believe that they will hollow out. However, with your sarcastic and cynical questions, you _will not_ be on a diet of avian food. Your body still requires the nourishment that a normal human's does. Now, is there anything that you require such as food or water? The medicine should be gone from your system in an hour or so."

Sakura just looked at him without saying a world. He was irritating and she had no desire to exchange words with the ridiculous man. A changing musculature. Feh.

After a seconds of no response, the doctor snarled quietly to himself and stalked out of the room, muttering about pig-headed patients.

Smirking to herself, Sakura brought up a hand to tuck some of her pink hair behind an ear. She finally took notice that her entire body was swathed in bandages from head to toe. She then remembered all of the sunburns that she had had, plus all of the scrapes and cuts.

She marveled at the fact that she could not feel the pain from them, not even a throbbing sensation. She started to poke her arms, fully expecting blazing pain but none ever came.

She started when a smooth voice came from her side.

"I wouldn't do that. You're actually hurt very badly and moving about will only make it worse for you in the end."

She looked over to the red head at her side. He had not moved at all except to speak.

"So why don't I feel it? Why don't feel much of anything?"

She didn't receive an answer at first, but he eventually responded.

"You are drugged up to not feel anything. The only reason you have enough motor control to move right now is because I am periodically unblocking your pain receptors and basically all of your nerves. When the medication wears off, you will be a very unhappy person, I assure you."

Sakura scowled.

"I'm already unhappy. I'm unanything. Why didn't you leave me?"

Again, she had to wait a few minutes for a response. She was patient though. She knew he was concentrating very hard.

"As Kazekage, I am obligated to shelter civilians in trouble, especially if they are passed out into the desert. Believe me, I wanted to leave you there. But Temari wouldn't have shut up if she had ever found out. It is much less troublesome to save you than how troublesome it would have been to deal with my sister's consistent howling and nagging. Now shut up and stop talking or I might accidentally 'lose my concentration.'"

Sakura felt that she should have been angry at that moment, but once again she simply let it slide. She laid back down quietly and closed her eyes, but never fell asleep.

Soon enough, she began to feel it. The prickle of nerves coming back to life, then the raging fire that consumed her body from overtaxed and new muscles, and from her sun-blistered body.

It took everything she had to keep herself from screaming bloody murder.

She wanted that damn pain killer back. She didn't want the reminder that she was weak and could feel the pain still.

Naruto wouldn't have flinched at what she was feeling, and here she was whimpering like some fool, a baby with colic.

She snarled to cover her pain and glowered at her companion for the past few hours. Her fists were twisted up in the sheets and her knuckles were whites. Her body quivered from the pain that was engulfing her small form.

"Get. Me. That. Painkiller."

The jade eyes finally opened and gave her an unreadable look that only added fuel to her irritation.

"No. You're addicted to it. Now you must be broken of it. You'll survive the pain. If you made it this far from Konoha with what you had on you plus your injuries, you'll be fine. Where is your forehead protector anyways kunoichi?"

Sakura didn't say anything, but tensed up almost unconsciously.

She shouldn't have been surprised. After all, it's not like the Kazekage of Suna would keep tabs on a nobody like her. How should he know that she was no longer a ninja? That she had fled her old village clinging to a desperate hope that he could still identify with her, that he would be able to see her.

She was wrong. She knew that as she slowly crept her dead eyes to lock with his now lively ones. One's that didn't suffer anymore. It wasn't fair…

"Answer woman. If you are missing nin, I am obligated to return you so that judgment can be passed on your betrayal."

Sakura sneered at him visibly. She didn't need his crap. She didn't need anymore crap period. She needed to leave.

But her pain kept her from moving. Everything was on fire, she wouldn't get more than a couple of steps before she passed out.

"I am a civilian now. So you needn't worry about wasting your precious time on me. Go away asshole, and stop pitying me."

And she did the worst thing possible to do to a homicidal bijuu. She insulted him and was ungrateful.

Gaara was barely restraining his fury at her impudence and wanted nothing more than to kill her. And he could now. She had no village ties and was a wanderer. She was free game.

But those eyes…he knew what those eyes meant…

It meant that if he moved to strike her down, she would lift a finger to stop him, and wouldn't flinch in fear.

And those eyes did something that no person besides the ugly Kage's daughter did, and that was scare him.

He'd felt before what he was seeing now in her eyes. No one should have those eyes…

But that fear did not override his anger, just phased out some of it. He stood up and grabbed Sakura around the throat, guttural snarls leaving his mouth.

"How dare you say such things to me! I should kill you!"

Sakura leered back up, trying to ignore the pain flaring up around her form as he grabbed her.

"Then do it! You're a man of your word right? Follow through with your threats like you always do!" she bit out between gasps.

That little part of her was screaming again, demanding that she take back her words.

She bit back on it. She wanted out. She couldn't do it herself though, and because her last hope in finding someone like her had been crushed upon seeing that Gaara had changed added to the fact that he was still easy to anger, she deemed him the best candidate to carry out her want.

And was left disappointed again. Surely she must have some sort of horrid karma. This was too much.

Gaara quickly withdrew his hand from the female's neck in openly displayed surprise. Who asked for such a thing? Everyone begs for life while faced with death, not the opposite. What broke this female so completely?

He quickly composed himself though and proceeded to lash out verbally.

"Hush woman! You aren't worth the effort nor the trouble. I already invested too much time and energy into saving you, to kill you off. Now be grateful and get better. Once you're done healing, you will live here until you've paid off your debt for my help."

Sakura had passed out again from the pain, and hadn't heard a word he said. He grouched irritably, but turned to leave now that she was no longer in mortal danger.

As he was leaving, something flashed in the corner of his eye. What surprised him was that he wasn't the one who was shocked about this flash.

It was Shukaku, who had stilled instantaneously and didn't speak to him for the rest of the day.

'_What was that all about?_'

-------------------------

A/N: And end this chappy! –does happy dance- And here is to my reviewers:

**Silent Kunoichi aka. Fiona Mckinnon**- Thank you.

**blacksyryn**- Thank you.

**ReadsInSilence**- Thank you.

**Marsgoddess1**- Meh. I can only write so fast. I do try to update as quickly as possible though, don't get me wrong. Thank you!

**blackXheart**- With the way everyone except Naruto and Lee treat her, this how I think she feels. But thank you!

**SweetAssassin**- Here ya go. Thank you.

**EnV**- -smiles- Thank you!

**Rhonda21**- Thank you!

**The Squabbit**- Saku-chan is _not_ super woman. At least, not her her. You've prolly already gotten a taste on what's to come. Thank you!

**DarkAngelB**- Meh…superior no…a little better, maybe…messed up? Hell ya! Thank you!

**Yokaigurl**- She won't just pop into it, but it definitely makes some appearances. Thank you!

**The warmth of the Afterglow**- Sasuke is emo. Itachi is just crazy insane and doesn't have an excuse for it, like how Gaara does. Meh…good…I don't wanna be raped… -gulps and eyeballs reviewers nervously- Thank you!

**Seishi Sairensuno**- Thank you! Hopefully I've turned another… -does victory dance-

**Super Lucky Tiki Charm**- A little. Sasuke/Sakura makes me wanna go puke. After being treated like that, I definitely wouldn't go running back to him. Especially after everything he did. Bleh… But thank you!

**green24**- It's okay. Computers do strange things all the time. Thank you!

**x.emri.x**- Here ya go.

**xXxAllMySinsxXx**- -laughs- True true. But I won't do everyone bashing. Everyone definitely gets a slap upside the head though. Thank you!

**Hao'sAnjul**- Yup.

**Gina01**- Thank you!

**DudettRin101**- Thank you!

**QuicksilverWitch**- Mehbeh…mehbeh not…we shall see…


	6. Rehabilitation I: The Body

Breakaway

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

-----------------------

Chapter 5: Rehabilitation I: The Body.

-----------------------

Crazy Mary

By FM Static

Crazy Mary is a slow girl who looks up to no one.

Would do anything for a cold one.

Wishes she could find her way home.

Got the look on her face and the stare of a ray gun.

We walked by everyday

and I wish there was something I could do for her.

Maybe if I took a little time to talk then she'd heal a little if she wants to.

She can run but let's teach her how to walk away now.

I'll shake a little if she wants to she'll laugh a little if she needs to.

There's a key to the door that she's hiding behind.

She watches the world pass her by like a freight train.

They all call her the same name.

Laughin' as they point and stare at her.

So she cries out to God up in Heaven,

been prayin since she was 11.

For Him to send someone to meet her there.

Maybe if I took a little time to talk then she'd heal a little if she wants to.

She can run but let's teach her how to walk away now.

I'll shake a little if she wants to she'll laugh a little if she needs to.

There's a key to the door that she's hiding behind.

And no one knows the thoughts, the dreams,

and the ideas she's got and contains inside.

She's broken apart

and her heart is still lookin for somewhere to feel alright.

And no one knows the thoughts, the dreams,

and the ideas she's got and contains inside.

She's broken apart

and her heart is still lookin for somewhere to feel alright.

Maybe if I took a little time to talk then she'd heal a little if she wants to.

She can run but let's teach her how to walk away now.

I'll shake a little if she wants to she'll laugh a little if she needs to.

There's a key to the door that she's hiding behind.

-----------------

Sakura grumbled as she heard someone scurrying about her room in a most unquiet manner. Said person was not only bumbling about with the medical equipment but also was muttering incoherently to themselves.

Groaning at the injustice of it all, Sakura reluctantly opened her eyes to reveal the same white room that she had woken up to numerous times before. Giving in to the fact that she was no longer able to sleep, Sakura slowly wriggled her stiff and aching body into a semi-upright position.

She'd been in this hospital for over a month now, fading in and out of consciousness from the pain at first, but then dealing with the severe withdrawal of the drug that was used on her. Her skin for the most part had been repaired with no visible scarring from her extreme burns, but it was most definitely mottled, some patches of skin pink, others pale, still others tanned.

Her withdrawal had caused her to lose more weight off of her already anorexic body and her inability to function for long before going into convulsions had her joints locking up. But it was this day, she now realized, that she was to dread.

The doctors that had been caring for her thought she was ready to start some mild rehabilitation, just enough to maintain her current muscle build before it totally deteriorated. Her joints had also shown signs of collecting water, and her movement was necessary to stave it off until she was fully healed.

She turned her apathetic gaze to the urchin that dared to interrupt her only bouts of peace, only to see that he was the doctor in charge of her. She'd expected it to be someone who'd held the same position she did back in Konoha, the go-for, the hospital nerd that was placed in that position to ensure that they never got the chance to excel. But, no, it was the doctor who'd made her addicted to a drug she didn't give him permission to inject her with.

The shadow of anger settled over her, but she actually didn't _feel_ it.

"Are you here to start rehab?" Sakura asked in droll tone.

The man in his lab coat leapt at the sound of her voice, startled. He turned to look at her, his eyes blinking owlishly behind their spectacles. He straightened up and set down whatever it was he had been messing with on a metal tray with a clink.

He cleared his throat and pulled his shoulders back in an attempt to look important and professional. Could've fooled her…

His hand came up and pushed the spectacles back up to the bridge of his large Romanesque nose.

"Yes, we are starting that today. A nurse will be by with a wheelchair to take you to the clinic where you start with learning to walk again. If you are unable to, then they will just work on strengthening your legs until you can walk."

He immediately turned and walked quickly out of the room. Sakura watched until his back disappeared around a corner down the hallway. Turning her head, she glanced at the tray he had been fiddling with and saw a syringe filled with a clear liquid. Beside the syringe sat the bottle which the liquid had been drawn from. She couldn't read the print from where she was sitting so she didn't make the effort to strain to read it. If he was out to kill her while she slept, let him. It would end the misery she was in.

If she had been useless before, she didn't even know what to call the state she was currently in. She lifted a mottled arm in front of her face noting how emaciated it was, her finger joints and wrist bones protruding like monuments from the planes of her hand and arm.

A steady squeaking was making its way down the hallway along with the light, carefree steps of one of the nurses that she was beginning to be irritated by. Sakura knew it would be the one with bright yellow hair and large purple eyes. This same nurse would always hum some happy tune or another when all Sakura wished for was peace.

The nurse walked in with a million-watt, Naruto-ish smile and greeted Sakura.

"Good morning! It's time to begin making you all better! How are you feeling on this beautiful day?"

All she got in return was a stare vacant of emotion. They sat and stared at each other for a few moments, the blonde's smile slowly starting to fade to a disgruntled look.

The nurse finally broke the contact and pushed the wheel chair up next to Sakura's bed, her eyes now fixated upon the light, multicolored tiles on the floor. She always got the willies around the ex-kunoichi, her blank stare seeming to suck all the emotion out of the room leaving only a hopeless despair. The nurse could have sworn that the temperature around the girl dropped a few degrees also.

Reaching over, the nurse pulled the blankets off of Sakura and pulled the ex-kunoichi's legs over the side. Sakura helped by placing her hands on the nurse's shoulders as she was lifted and placed into the squeaky wheeled contraption. Once there, Sakura neatly folded her hands in her lap.

The nurse was struck by just how _old_ Sakura looked. Her skin was mottled, hair unkempt, thin, her eyes had bags underneath them and her skin just seemed to hang off of her bones. And she was so listless, just lost in a world where death seemed to be looming on the horizon, a death that may come during sleep.

Shrugging it off, the nurse started to wheel Sakura out of the room and down the hallway to the rehab room. Once they pulled up in front of the room Sakura snapped out of her daze long enough to glance through the glass on the doors to all the weight equipment sitting inside.

All the contraptions that were going to be her further torment in life. This was going to be the next few months of her life. Hadn't she suffered enough already? Paid her dues to karma? She was sure that even Orochimaru and Sasuke didn't have this awful karma. Sakura then proceeded to blank out until someone else disturbed her from her void.

The nurse walked around the wheelchair and rapped persistently on the glass until a young man came into view. He glanced at the nurse then at Sakura through the glass before opening the door. The nurse wheeled Sakura into the room which smelled of antiseptic and sweat. Before the blonde left she turned and smiled prettily at the man, batting her eyelashes.

"Have fun Tai. I'll see you later!"

She giggled, gave a half-wave and walked out quickly, eager to get away from the emotional black hole that was Sakura.

The man kneeled in front of Sakura, causing her to snap out of her daze to find out why he had purposefully placed himself in front of the spot she had been staring at. What was revealed to her was an exact replica of Sasuke, only aged at 24 and in possession of blue eyes and a warm disposition. His chin had some three day stubble, adding a rugged aspect to him. He was clad in some well-fitting but still loose khakis and a white polo shirt with the Suna hospital crest on the left breast.

"Well Miss, we're going to be seeing a lot of each other over the next few weeks. My name is Hirohito Tai. Pleased to meet you Miss…?"

Sakura just stared at him. She'd been in this hospital for a month and still no one knew her name. Hell, no had bothered to _ask_ her for her name. They just referred to her as 'Hey you' or 'Miss.' And this man was the first to bother. Why did he care when no one else did?

After a few seconds pause, Sakura finally answered.

"Sakura."

She continued staring at him, and she saw the frown that always appeared on everyone's face when they came within a ten foot radius of her. But he opened his mouth to continue speaking.

"Last name?"

Sakura paused for a few seconds, wondering why he was making her relive painful moments in her past. A light frown formed on her face and the skin around her eyes tightened almost imperceptibly.

"I belong to no house or clan. I was disowned, therefore I do not possess a last name. I am just Sakura. Do you mind if we just get this session over with? I wish you all would just leave me alone, but doesn't look to be happening. Must be the stupid tanuki's fault…"

Tai looked taken aback, his mouth hanging open at her words. At her admission of being disowned, wanting to be left alone, and calling the Kazekage a tanuki. He had gotten wind two weeks ago that a female had been carried in unconscious and burned to a crisp by the Kazekage himself and that the Kazekage had taken her care into his own hands until she stabilized enough for the hospital to care for her.

He'd also heard that the Kage had staked ownership of her life in return for saving her. He didn't know if this was a contract that both had agreed to, or if the Kage was being selfish as was his habit. Tai looked at her bedraggled, unkempt hair and wondered at its color.

No one in Suna possessed a hair color like that, nor anyone he had come across before. Her previous exposure to the sun had bleached the strands exposed, but the under layers were a shade below bubblegum pink. He shook off his preoccupation and decided to comply with her request to get on with the therapy.

He stood and walked behind the wheelchair, pushing it over to a set of waist high parallel bars that had padding underneath it on the floor. He parked the wheelchair at one end.

"Miss Sakura, I want to see it you can still walk after all this time of being bedridden." He walked to one side of the parallel bars and talked to her while facing her. "Grasp each bar with a hand and use the bars for support. All I need to see is if you can be mobile with some help or if you will continue to require the wheelchair.

Sakura gave one shallow nod and reached forward mechanically with skeletal hands. Her protruding knuckles turned white as they clasped weakly around the wooden bars. With a heave forward, Sakura found herself shaking as both her arms and legs fought to keep her upright. Her joints screamed at the injustice of the strain and gave up within seconds. Sakura found herself face first on the antiseptic smelling blue mat and fought not to gag.

Tai was next to her, raving about how she had at least stood for six seconds. Sakura turned her glassy green eyes towards him.

"It wasn't that good. Now get me off this floor so we can start with the weights. I just want this torture over with for today so I can go to sleep. Or at least a daze."

Sakura reflected on her inability to sleep anymore. She'd gone the entire past week without sleeping once. The world around her seemed to move that much slower now and she felt more detached than ever before.

Tai frowned again but gathered her crumpled form into his arms and placed her back into the wheelchair. He pushed her over to some weight machines next to where the free weights sat stacked on racks. He grabbed the one pound weights and handed them to Sakura.

"I want you to do ten reps of arm curls with these, three times. Between each set, take a minute break. It's looking like this is going to be exhausting for you. This therapy is going to take months. After this month you should be able to walk on your own, but you won't be in any condition to do whatever the Kazekage wants you for."

Sakura chose to ignore the notion that Gaara owned her and immediately set about doing her exercise. She turned her head to show Tai that she was ignoring him now and would continue to do so until she had finished all of her exercise.

Tai looked a little put out, but he turned and walked over to a connected room that had a window looking out into the rehab room. He sat down behind a small desk piled up with papers and proceeded to sift through and sort them.

An exhausting twenty minutes and an extra three sets later, Sakura dropped the one pound weights onto the sterile blue mats with a muffled thud. She turned and looked into the window to see Tai already moving toward her.

He nodded to her as he came up.

"Good job. I guess that's enough for today tomorrow we'll be working on you legs, maybe even utilize the pool we just got to help you with standing."

Sakura just continued giving him her blank look, hoping to curb his intent to converse with her. She wanted nothing to do with the Sasuke look-alike. It was more of a reminder of her past that she wanted to forget.

Tai humphed to himself and shrugged. He walked behind the wheelchair once again and pushed Sakura back to the door leading to the hallway. On the other side, a different, brunette nurse waited to take Sakura back.

The nurse opened the door for Tai as he wheeled Sakura out. Once again, Tai had a nurse batting her eyelashes and giggling at him. Sakura ignored this as she changed hands from Tai to the nurse. With a giggled goodbye and a wink, the nurse took off down the hallway with Sakura.

Sakura mused silently that it was no surprise that if Tai looked like Sasuke that he'd have all of Suna's women drooling over him…

--------------------------

"Gaara, there a visitor from Konoha here to see you."

Temari's blonde head was stuck through the crack of the door, looking at her younger brother. She realized that this was one of the worst times to bother him about representatives from another ninja village, especially after he had just had to stave off the elder Kage about marrying his daughter, whom he had brought along. Temari almost died upon seeing the girl, for she was wearing clothing that was obviously too small for her and didn't have nearly enough material. Her make up had also been caked on thick to the point that Temari wondered why it didn't crack every time the woman smiled coyly at her younger brother. She truly felt sorry for him and he was in a horrid mood after the whole ordeal, but Konoha was their closest ally.

Jade eyes glared up from behind a wooden desk and between ungodly tall piles of paperwork. They spoke of sororicide if the person was not important. Standing up stiffly he walked towards Temari and the door.

"Who is it? It better be the Hokage or, pact with Konoha aside, I'm killing them."

Temari nodded her head vigorously in agreement with her pissed brother, but stopped him from storming out of his office with not so gentle shove to his chest.

"Take a deep breath Gaara. I know it's been a trying day for you, because it's been one for me too. While you had a stubborn Kage and ugly daughter to entertain, I was staving off both equally tenacious and ugly nins from his country from hitting on me. Uzumaki Naruto is outside waiting for, not the Kazekage, but Gaara of Suna. Now calm down. He seems rather tired, I think he's been having problems of his own."

Gaara calmed hearing that it was Naruto out there and not someone else. In fact, he was in a better mood knowing that it wasn't Tsunade. The woman was unlucky and trouble followed her every step. Trouble also followed Naruto, but at least Naruto was more tolerable and had his respect.

Gaara opened the door all the way as Temari stepped away, and walked into his seating area. He was surprised to see that Temari may have under exaggerated her description of how Naruto looked. The bijuu looked absolutely horrible. He had a straggly beard growing, he was dirty and so were his clothes and he looked like he hadn't slept in years.

Concerned, Gaara quickly moved to stand in front of the man who had saved him from becoming even more of a monster.

"Uzumaki. What brings you to Suna?"

Naruto looked up from his seated position on one of the poorly padded chairs in the room. His hands were clasped in front of his face and the smile that appeared didn't quite reach his eyes.

"A friend of mine has been missing from Konoha for the past month and a half. She left without telling anyone. She even left most of her possessions behind. I'm not surprised she left though, but I wish she had told me, or even had bothered to say goodbye. I was worried so I've been looking everywhere for just a sign of her. I just want to make sure she's okay."

Alarums immediately went off in Gaara's head as the pink-haired girl popped into his mind. He knew that she had been on Naruto's team, but he didn't know what her name was. He still didn't.

Shukaku also reacted badly to this knowledge, a wave of possessiveness sweeping over him. Finding Shukaku's behavior odd and petulant, Gaara ignored it, but decided that he wouldn't tell Naruto about the girl being here. Maybe later, after the ex-kunoichi had repaid her debt to him.

Returning his attention to his hurting friend, he shoved that shadow of guilt that rose up in what was left of his conscience to the back of his mind.

"My condolences. Who was your friend?"

Naruto sighed then answered.

"You might have known her as Haruno Sakura, but now she is just Sakura. She's the girl who was on my team back in the day. You should remember because she stood up to you that one time in the forest. Pink hair, green eyes, fairly loud and fiery when her temper came out. She'd been having a very rough time before she left…she'd been having a rough time since she started school at the ninja academy. I just wish she would have told me she was leaving…Hinata's been worried, and so was the doctor she used to work under at the Konoha hospital…"

Tears appeared in Naruto's eyes, but he did well in holding them from flowing over. He looked up at Gaara with eyes that spoke of a saddened but stubborn hope.

"Please, tell me you've seen her. Tell me she's here in Suna somewhere. She doesn't even have to see me, just put my worries at bay and tell me she's alive and well."

Even the heartless Gaara could not stand up to Naruto's tears. Plus he had said that he wouldn't speak to the girl, just wanted to know if she was alive and breathing. Gaara heaved a sigh and his face softened just a little.

Naruto jumped to conclusion and assumed that the sigh either meant Gaara had not seen her, or that Sakura was dead. The tears finally broke free and began to carve molten tracks down the kyuubi's face.

Gaara quickly spoke to stop Naruto from further breaking down.

"She's here Naruto. Sakura's alive, now stop crying."

Of course, Gaara only got out 'now-' before Naruto had leapt up off of the chair and had the Kazekage in a bone crushing bear hug, laughing hysterically.

"Thank goodness! Thank you Gaara! Thank you! Where is she? I want to speak with her!"

Naruto, just as quickly as he had initiated the hug, broke loose of it and was idiotically and hyperactively looking underneath each chair, as if he might find his friend there.

"Unfortunately Naruto, you may not see her. I found her a month ago passed out on the outskirts of Suna. She had suffered severe dehydration and second degree burns on over fifty percent of her body. She's been bedridden for almost a month. I haven't seen her since she stabilized, but the last report said that she's starting therapy to stop her muscles from atrophying. She shows no emotion and…"

Gaara flashed back to her empty eyes glaring at him, begging him to take her life, daring him to, egging him on. It was like torture looking into those eyes. What made it so was that he knew he used to possess those very same eyes, in fact, Naruto had been subject to them. And Gaara knew it would kill Naruto to see that his friend Sakura had them now.

Naruto was once again in tears, but did not push Gaara to let him see Sakura. Gaara was not one to lie, though he often omitted certain things. But if he said Sakura was alive, then she was alive and he would live on knowing that she was under Gaara's care.

"Thank you Gaara. I'll head back to Konoha now. May I have use of your facilities for some sleep, a bath, and to replenish my supplies?"

Gaara nodded to the blonde solemnly.

"Naruto, I know this sounds strange, but don't tell anyone that she is here. You can say she's alive, but don't say where. I don't know what caused her to leave Konoha, but I'm going to venture a guess that she doesn't want anyone knowing where she is."

Naruto gave Gaara a sad, knowing, and almost cynical smile.

"It wouldn't matter, no one besides me, Hinata, and her old boss noticed that she had left. No one gave a shit about her except us. Did you know that she's begged Tsunade to become her apprentice ever since Sasuke first disappeared? Years of nothing but rejection and malice from everyone around her. I don't blame her for leaving, but I wish she would have seen that I was a friend and that she should have told me she was leaving."

Gaara's non-existent eyebrows rose in surprise. Her whole village had treated her worse than an outcast, they had completely forgotten about her. Now he knew why she was so broken. No one had actually _seen­_ Sakura in years.

Naruto saw the shocked look on Gaara's face and smiled weakly.

"There's nothing worse than being looked right through by people who used to love you. At least people saw us and acknowledged out existence, though it was with hatred. She just got indifference. Well, enough about that. I'm sure she'll find what she needs here in Suna. May I please be shown my room? I'm exhausted, famished, and smell."

Gaara nodded and turned to where he knew Temari was lurking behind a corner.

"You are too nosy. Hopefully someone will bite it off someday so you'll learn to keep it out of other's business."

The blonde girl walked around the corner revealing herself, not looking in the least sorry about eavesdropping. With an irritating smile to her brother, she turned to Naruto and asked him to follow her outside.

Once they left, Gaara walked back into his office musing to himself. A visit to the girl, Sakura, was in order soon.

--------------------

A few more weeks had passed for Sakura, and she was now able to walk down the hallway on her own for therapy. She was grateful, because now she didn't have to suffer the presence of the bimbo nurses. She had also woken twice to the doctor fiddling with syringe and strange clear liquids. He was much too loud for her to not notice.

You'd think he'd smarten up and fill up the stupid needle before coming in to inject her.

The second time he'd scurried out of the room, Sakura was strong enough to make it to the counter and look at the label on the bottle. Sodium thiopental. She noted it as an anesthetic and looked at syringe. From self medical study, she ascertained that the amount in the syringe was not meant to kill, just knock her out for a long time.

She deduced the doctor's motives for wanting to knock her out. What a sick man, but it wasn't like it would affect her that much emotionally.

The last attempt had been ten days ago, and since then Sakura hadn't seen him at all.

Her body had returned to its normal weight, but she was still getting barely any sleep and her skin was staying mottled.

Tai was still trying to make her engage in conversation, but she would have none of it. He looked too much like someone who had betrayed her for one, but she also didn't have any desire to get to know anyone. She planned on leaving when they released her and seeing if the desert would do what Gaara could not. Such a place was non judgemental and harsh, so she didn't think it would take long to wipe her pathetic existence from the face of this earth.

She was currently selecting some clothes to wear for when she was allowed outside for the first time in months. They were also giving her an allowance to purchase more clothing and some personal care items. It was as if they were expecting her to move out, but still return during pre-set times to return for a little more physical therapy with the hippie Sasuke.

Taking it as a sign that she would soon be gone, Sakura did not throw up any complaints and simply selected a loose fitting pair of jeans, a plain gray t-shirt that was a little too large on her still slim frame, and some sandals that resembled the ones they had to cut off of her.

She shrugged into them and neatly folded her hospital dress, placing it on the bed. She turned around, her now longer hair swaying about her shoulders. Its color was now just as patched together as her skin, the roots a dark pink, while the strands that had been exposed to the sun before were more white, while the under strands were still dark.

She was pretty sure she looked like a freak, but she didn't really pay it much mind.

She strode out of the room to the front desk, almost groaning as she was greeted with the sight of the blonde nurse sitting behind it. The woman seemed to be smiling in relief and a bit of malicious glee, though Sakura could guess at the motive behind the latter part.

"Hello Sakura-san. Sign these papers here and we'll give you your allowance. From here on out you will be staying at the residence of the Kazekage and be under his care until you have repaid your debt for the hospital bills and our Kage's kindness in saving your life."

'_Ah, so that's why she's smiling with malicious glee. I'm sorry you can't seem to seduce the Sasuke look-alike into sleeping with you, you bimbo, but no need to think I was purposefully hogging his attention.'_

Sakura gracefully reached out and took the papers, signing all of them with bothering to check _what_ she was signing. Once finished, she passed the papers back and accepted the envelope of money handed to her.

The nurse continued her smile.

"Thank you very much. The Kazekage's aide will be here in a few minutes to escort you around Suna for shopping and will then take to you to your new residence. We'll see you in two days for another therapy session. Have a nice day."

Sakura couldn't help but feel that she'd just been mocked somehow. The woman was grinning like a Cheshire cat, the cat who ate the canary. She had to have been mocked, because it was so _smug_, the way the nurse smiled.

Shaking it off, Sakura walked to the front doors and outside to wait Gaara's aide to escort her. The dry, hot air that greeted her spoke of hardship and perseverance. The sun was high in the sky and Sakura could already feel it turning her sensitive skin red from exposure.

She watched through the waves rising from the ground as a figure with large blonde hair approached. With ease passing footstep, the figure resolved itself to reveal Temari. Sakura immediately knew that she was Gaara's aide. Who else would stand up to the asshole and tell him to do his work and keep him in line?

Temari walked up and nodded to Sakura, not saying a word. As they walked down the road together at a moderate pace, Sakura felt relieved. At least someone would leave her be.

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A/N: And end this chapter. This only took me like, four days. I'm proud of myself. –grins- Well, anyways, hope you all enjoyed it.

And now, for my lovely and devoted reviewers:

**Yokaigurl**- patience…don't get too ahead of yourself there. Wait and see. –smiles-

**Mind At Loss­**- Shukaku sure does know what's going on, but he's not gonna tell a soul. –smiles wickedly- And if Sakura didn't suffer, then where would the story go?

**The warmth of the Afterglow**- Glad to see that my wit can actually make people laugh…I'm a rather not funny person in person…boy, that was redundant… ( ) And please do stave off the rabid fans. I'm sure many anime character can attest to the crazy things fans try to do to them…And don't worry, my handwriting's nothing to be proud of either…

**EnV**- Maybe she's a bird, maybe not. I only said that her musculature mimicked one.

**blackXheart**- Shukaku wasn't scared, just shocked and surprised into silence. –smiles-

**Seishi Sairensuno**- Good. It's a good pairing to become addicted to. –smiles-

**DarkAngelB**- Maybe she will. I'm not telling so you'll be forced to read. –grins evilly- Thank you for all your compliments. I really enjoy writing this story, though my fingers don't go as fast as my mind does, so some description is lost between that lag time. It's rather irritating… -grrrrs-

**Super Lucky Tiki Charm**- Sasuke is a jerk, so I'm indirectly bringing him back. I'm still unsure what I'm going to do with him though… -ponders-

**Rhonda21**- Don't worry. Gaara will cause Sakura to say many more nasty and degrading things to him in the future. –snickers- These two getting into a fight would be hilarious…

**Hao'sAnjul**- Thank you!

**Gina01**- Thank you!

**marise-chan**- Thank you!

**SweetAssassin**- He is isn't he? I'll have to make him more pigheaded then. Make Temari wish she didn't have a younger brother and actually use her black mail… -laughs maniacally-

**lilsoybeann**- Thank you!

**The Squabbit**- -sighs- No, Inner Sakura isn't super woman either. And, yeah, maybe like the hulk except not as ugly, smaller, and the only thing that's green is her eyes. –smiles-

**krista**- See? See how poor Naruto is suffering? Sakura's not the only one…

**Marsgoddess1**- Well, here's this chapter. I know it took awhile, but my other story needs attention to… -rubs back of head and laughs embarrassedly- But anyways, thank you!

**Ali-Baba123**- Thank you!

**pilar**- Thank you!

**Flame Unicorn**- I find it easier on me to not have a beta, that way I can turn the story out faster. Nothing personal. But thank you for the offer! It was very kind of you. –thumbs up-

**green24**- There, that's not as big of a cliff hanger is it?

**kaitou angel**- Take deeeeeep breathes, it'll be okay. Here's the next chapter.

**Kikaku**- Here it is.

**Lady-valasia- **They're not notes, just recognitions, so ha! –grins- But thank you! Hope this doesn't irritate you more, but I've been known to have an abrasive personality.

**NekoMercury**- Thank you!

**Human.**- Here it is! And no, thank you!

**Fate's Dice Kyre**- Thank you!

**Icefelis**- I hope that I will continue to write well. I hope I do not encounter the accursed and fabled writer's block. I here it breaks bones when you careen head on into it… -sweatdrops-

**K-chan9**- Thank you!

**BlackAngelBlood**- Here ya go!

**Noyesgirl**- Thank you!


	7. Rehabilitation II: A Broken Mind

Breakaway

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Disclaimer: Check out Chapter One if you're into reading these, and for that I label you as weird…

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Chapter 6: Rehabilitation II: A Broken Mind

Thrice

Lockdown

Once you were free and you stretched out your wings to the sky

Sky was the limit, cap on your creativity

Team against team could we even the score

Our hearts kept the rhythm; that forbidden beat

Your talons now grip like steel to the weight they chained you to

Two in the morning, you can't hear the rumbling train

Trained not to think or question anything

The chains that had bound you are now obsolete

Please open your eyes,

Everything they told you was a lie,

Think for yourself won't you even try to look past all of those lies

Think for yourself

For generations the answer has always been no

No one remembers and nobody cares to ask

Asking a question is deemed criminal and slowly the silence grows

On the growing list of the mindless, by your name a check

Checkmate the situation if we all toe the line

Line up and never open up your eyes

And don't even think about raising your voice

Leave your mind without thought (they fill it)

Identity erased

Place refuse in your sight (you swill it)

Yeah it seems they got you bound (bound tight)

Yeah it seems they got you beat

The chains that held you down (you down)

They now hang obsolete

--------------------

Sakura unslung her backpack full of new clothes onto the futon at her feet. Glancing about her new surroundings, she took it all in with a grain of salt. This room, like all of Suna, was a mixture of tans and browns.

It almost matched the drollness of the hospital in its own ways. The hospital was bright, sterile and functional, this room was…brown, bare, and cleanly. Just like her psyche. Except hers was grey, not brown or white.

Temari stood behind her, watching Sakura's lack of any reaction with interest.

"I know it's not much, being the Kazekage's house and all, but it's yours to whatever you want with. Gaara will come to see you in an hour or so. Feel free to wander around, put your stuff away. If you need anything, I'm two bedrooms down the hall."

Sakura turned and looked at her with blank eyes and face. This was like hitting a brick wall for Temari who was used to dealing with a fiery and constantly angry Gaara. She simply didn't know how to deal with this lack of response. Typically she would get a response immediately, sometimes with household items flung her way.

But Sakura had her stumped.

The pink-haired woman just nodded her head to Temari and turned around, continuing to inspect her surroundings.

With a frown, Temari turned and left the room, closing the door behind her quietly so as not to interrupt Sakura's inspection of the room. Once she heard the click she leaned back against the door, chewing her lip in thought.

Gaara hadn't mentioned just how serious Sakura's mental state was. Temari thought that she'd be the same cheerful spitfire she'd encountered at the chuunin exams, just a little depressed but still able to smile. Or maybe she knew all along that this was exactly how Sakura was going to act, just that she was hoping that Sakura was the same person. It wasn't often Temari encountered a female that she got along with.

The entire shopping experience was done in relative silence and for the most part it took Temari picking out clothes for Sakura so that the girl might actually any. The woman exhibited no interest in the world around her. She simply let it run its course all over her.

And those eyes…she had hoped to never see eyes like that ever again. She owed Naruto the world and the sky for what he did for Gaara. She would forever be thankful to him. And now, she guessed that it would be her turn to help Naruto out and help fix what was left of Sakura's will and soul.

She looked like an empty shell, her eyes the windows to an old, dusty abandoned house, full of ghosts from the past. Haunted, hurt, irreparable. Just waiting for the day she would finally collapse in on herself from the strain of staying upright.

Temari closed her eyes for a few seconds then pushed up off the door, walking opposite of her bedroom. She was going to berate Gaara for not telling her the whole truth. Sakura wasn't just hurting, she was slowly dying. Her body may be healthy, but if the mind wasn't intact, the body meant nothing.

He shouldn't hold out on information like that. Definitely not like this.

The blonde disappeared around the corner.

--------------------

Sakura was sitting down on the low futon, her knees drawn up close to her face. Her mottled arms lay loosely across the top and she stared vacantly straight ahead.

Until she was interrupted by a series of sharp knocks.

Sakura blinked out of her stupor and gave a soft answer, her head not moving but her eyes now trained onto the worn wood grain of the door.

"Come in."

The metal knob slowly turned and the door opened slowly to reveal a shock of red hair and sharp jade eyes. Gaara stepped silently into the room and closed the door behind him. He turned and looked at Sakura with eyes filled with empathy and a lingering pain.

He took a deep breathe, closing his eyes as he collected his thoughts. Finally he opened them and locked eyes with Sakura's blank green ones. He stepped in front of her then knelt before her, getting on eye-level. He never broke eye contact the whole time.

"Good afternoon Sakura. I am here to discuss your repayment for the hospital bills and rent for the remaining time you are here."

He paused to wait for any sort of acknowledgement and received a slight, almost imperceptible nod. This relieved him that she was at least a little in contact with the surrounding environment. With the way Sakura had acted with Temari, and after the reaming he had received from his vicious sister, he was afraid that he had evaluated Sakura wrong.

Proceeding, he nodded his head back.

"From now on you will work as my personal aide, not much unlike Temari. She needs a break anyways. You will sort paperwork, make sure that dated paperwork gets to me on time, that the paperwork gets to where it needs to be on time, handle my scheduling for meetings, set up meetings for Temari when I am unavailable, and other such work. You will also be charged to have some self-defense lessons, which I am sure you won't have a problem with, what with your ninja past."

He knew he was baiting Sakura with his last statement. He wanted to see if she'd bite either way. Either to say that she didn't have any schooling and shut down or say that she needed some help.

He received a continued blank stare much to his displeasure. A frown marred his face and forehead. He took a deep breath and forced himself not to sigh in exasperation.

"I will be in charge of teaching you self-defense, and should you wish, enroll you in our ninja academy. Effective immediately, you will start your repayment tomorrow morning. Temari will show you how everything works and tutor you on the politics involved and our many alliances. Do you understand? You will be stuck here in Suna for at least a year. Every hour of work will be valued toward paying back your debts, which means you will receive no money. Food will be provided for in my house free of charge and you already received clothing."

Sakura had reacted none during the entire one ended conversation, but Gaara knew she had been listening. Her eye contact remained sharp, not cloudy and wandering. He wished she would snap out of her funk. It brought back painful memories for him to see her so.

He watched as she nodded her head shallowly in response to his earlier question. She immediately broke eye contact and returned to staring dully at her hands. Gaara stood smoothly, looking down on her small form.

"Please join my siblings and me for dinner in three hours. Temari will come to escort you down to the dining room. Beyond that, please feel free to use the facilities of my home and to explore the town if you wish. Have a good afternoon Sakura-san."

Gaara turned and walked to the door, wishing he could hear a returned reply of the same, but knowing he would not receive it. He opened the door and passed through, closing it behind him with a soft click. It was going to be a long recovery, he knew this. Rekindling a will to live when nothing remained to live for was almost next to impossible. At least he had his siblings at his side the whole time, offering him their love and support.

Now he had to find someone to rekindle her will to live and to offer her love. He may be the cruel bijuu and Kazekage, but he had been through what she had, and felt obligated to pull her out of her hell.

Gaara walked down the hallway to his personal office, where much paperwork waited for him until dinner.

-----------------

Sakura slowly wrung the water from her wet hair, standing in the steam that was left over from her scalding shower. Her skin was an angry red from the heat of the water. It was another sad attempt on her part to feel something.

She glanced at the moisture covered mirror and wiped some of the condensation from its surface. She took in her mottled skin and mismatched hair. She brought a hand up and took a few strands between her forefinger and thumb, looking at it dispassionately. She let it fall from her fingers and turned her attention to her ribs.

Although she had gained weight, her ribs still stuck out. She ran a finger over the still creamy skin, counting each rib as the appendage ran over it. Two, three, four…

Her hand dropped back to her side and she turned away from the mirror. Picking up a tan towel that had been sitting on the toilet she wrapped it about her body and left the steamy room to enter her bedroom. Her feet padded quietly on the sand colored carpet until she reached the bureau where she had placed all her clothes. She opened drawer after drawer, pulling forth bra, underwear, long pants, three quarter sleeve shirt, and socks. She then carried these articles of clothing and laid them out on her futon.

She stood there for a few moments, just staring at the clothing. The pants were white, the bra, underwear, and socks white, and the shirt a teal. As she stood there, a knock issued forth from the door. Without hesitation or permission, the knocker entered the room. Blonde hair revealed the intruder as Temari, who turned questioning eyes to Sakura.

"Dinner's in a few minutes. You aren't ready yet?"

Temari took in a still dripping Sakura, her multi-pink hair hanging limply. Temari also took in the patchy skin of Sakura's face and arms, but also the smooth cream of her back and what was exposed of her chest. Sakura reminded her of a rag doll, sewn together with many different colored fabrics. And she looked just as abused as any rag doll.

Temari felt tears enter her eyes at the sight, her heart going out to the emotionally abused girl. Temari had only been moved once before in her life to tears, and that was during the exchange between her brother and Naruto years back.

Sakura turned back to the clothing on the bed, ignoring Temari's presence. She dropped the towel from about her form to gather up the bra and underwear to put on.

A tear spilled over onto Temari's cheek. She could count the ribs from where she was standing. And she knew she was right at that moment. Sakura's body would be unable to survive if her mind was not restored.

Temari quickly wiped the tear away and waited patiently for Sakura to finish dressing. When the pink haired woman finished, she turned to Temari. Her hair was still wet, drips causing the teal shirt to stain dark blue where ever they landed. Her green eyes revealed nothing, betrayed nothing.

Temari shivered, but turned and exited the room, knowing that Sakura would follow.

--------------------

The dining room was not extravagant, much like the rest of the house. It was tastefully done and did display wealth, but it was all functional and clean. The oak table and display case where the china was shown off gave the air of Suna riches. Wood was hard to come across, so furniture was a giveaway for wealth.

Sakura drank in the cream walls adorned with pictures of different countries, recognizing one as Fire Country. Her eyebrow quirked a bit upon seeing it, but that was the limit of her reaction.

She turned to see Temari sitting to the right of the head of the table, motioning for Sakura to sit across from her and to the left of what Sakura assumed to be Gaara's spot.

Walking calmly across the room, Sakura sat without a word on the cushion, her legs tucked neatly beside her. She glanced up to see Temari staring at her. After a few moments of locking gazes, Temari opened her mouth.

"Gaara will join us in a few moments. He's been backlogged under all sorts of paperwork. The reconstruction of Suna has had him flooded and busy from dawn till dusk. Your help will be most appreciated. Gaara doesn't trust just anyone to help him with the legislation of Suna."

Sakura nodded her head once but didn't say anything. Temari quickly suppressed another shudder as it gripped her form. Sakura gave her the willies worse than Gaara ever did. But she had also known Sakura as someone lively and full of fight.

Sure her brother had been full of fight, but it was also filled with desperation. Sakura's fight had been full of life, the expectation that she _would_ pull in that next breath no matter what happened. Gaara's fight was fighting, struggling to take the next breath, sure that it would be ripped from his throat if he didn't do something about it. Sakura fought because she was alive, Gaara fought to stay alive.

A tingle passed down to Temari's toes and she knew Gaara had just stepped into the room. If it weren't for the sixth sense between siblings, Temari would be unable to sense Gaara, for he did everything with stealth. She turned to greet her brother.

"Konbanwa otouto-sama. How go the paper mountains?"

Gaara shot Temari his scowl of death, displeased that she was cracking jokes at his expense. He strode over to his seat, eyes now not focused on his teasing sister.

"Where is Kankuro? Surely he'd take a little of his busy schedule to join his remaining family for dinner? I haven't seen his tattooed hide in months. What has he been doing?"

Temari frown at the mention of the puppeteer. He'd been sent out on one of Suna's rare high-paying, high-ranked missions. Since Sakura had arrived, a few neighboring countries had been behaving strangely. A few of Suna's border allies requested that the Wind Country investigate, offering a hefty sum.

Kankuro was the highest ranked ninja that was available to investigate. He'd been gone all this time and just returned two days prior. He came back a bit battered and very withdrawn. He had immediately walked into his room and locked it behind him without a word to anyone.

Both Gaara and Temari were concerned to say the least. Gaara had banged on the sibling's door for half an hour, demanding a report and that Kankuro come out to eat. No sound had emerged from the other side of the door, just silence.

Temari shrugged in response to Gaara's questions.

"He'll come out eventually Gaara. I'm sure he's just consolidating all the information he collected. Sometimes it takes a while to sort through intelligence to make something of it."

Gaara shot Temari a skeptical look. He was quickly distracted as a butler walked out from the adjacent kitchen with a couple of trays laden heavily with food. It was laid out carefully in front of the three, then the waiter retreated quickly back to the kitchen to await plates cleaned of food.

Both Temari and Gaara turned and looked at Sakura expectantly, waiting for the almost comatose woman to select her food from the trays first. Sakura made no move.

Gaara quickly grew irritated, his face turning red. His patience was almost non-existent after fighting his way through piles of ridiculous propositions about marriage and land boundaries and useless disputes between the civilians that lived within the village. He didn't feel like dealing with Sakura's stubborn refusal to acknowledge the world around her.

Temari could almost smell ozone radiating from Gaara's form as he prepped for a proverbial nuclear meltdown. Rushing to save both Gaara and Sakura, Temari reached out and picked up the pink-haired woman's plate, placing various foods upon its surface.

She didn't desire to listen to anymore of Gaara's rants. Nor did she wish to cause Sakura more of a reason to not open back up. Gaara blowing up wouldn't help her situation, especially after Gaara took all the time to ensure her the best care and that she survived her extensive injuries.

Placing the plate back in front of Sakura, she noted that Gaara was still glaring daggers at the poor woman, but that he was no longer ready to explode. She sighed and slowly placed food on her own plate. It was going to be a long meal, mediating between a short fused Gaara and an unresponsive Sakura. Why was she always the referee when it came to Gaara?

-----------------

Gaara sat back at his desk, biting back a groan as he glanced at the never-ending, replenishing piles of paperwork. If there was one thing he had wished to have known before accepting the position of Kage was that the paperwork never went away.

He could deal with the political aspect of his job. In fact, all he had expected of this position was to interact with other Kage and country leaders, not paperwork and legislation and on the odd day some jurisdiction.

He plopped down into his cushy leather swivel chair and glared at the paperwork, hoping to will it away. He tried this everyday since he started as Kage, and the paper had yet to burst spontaneously into flames. He cursed being an earth jutsu user. He also wished flames could burst forth from his eyes to engulf the pieces of offending parchment.

As he sat there and tried to use non-existent mind powers on the helpless sheaves of paper, he reflected on the dinner he had just left from.

It was hands down the worst dinner he had ever sat down to, next to that dinner with the old fogy Kage and his repulsive daughter of course.

The food wasn't bad and nothing horrendous happened during the course of the meal that would force Gaara to label it the worst meal. However, Gaara had never felt that awkward for that long, ever.

His sister tried so hard to make conversation to break the heavy silence that domineered the room, she really had. It was an admirable effort on her part. Gaara had even tried to put his two cents in every now and again to help her along. But Sakura's deafening silence reigned supreme and both Gaara and Temari were left squirming in their seats, wanting to be anywhere but in that same room with the pink-haired woman.

Any attempt to interact with her was met with a stone façade and a blank stare. Not really conducive for making further attempts, but the siblings kept trying nonetheless, hoping to break the awkwardness.

Turning his thoughts away from the dinner, Gaara focused on the hour of training he was going to put Sakura through. If he had felt that awkward during dinner with a chatty sister, he was doomed for that one hour everyday; except the ones where she would be returned to physical therapy for special treatments and for check-ups. Those were twice a week if he remembered correctly.

He also remembered hand picking the doctor who was in charge of her physical therapy. If that wasn't a blast from the past for Sakura, Gaara didn't know what was.

Upon seeing the picture attached to the man's admirable portfolio, Gaara had done a double take, knowing that the last remaining Uchiha was dead. And it was disconcerting to see that same face with a gentle, warm smile upon it. Gaara knew Sasuke to be dangerous, so seeing such a look on a born killer's face set off alarms.

But Gaara knew that this was not the same man. Looking into his blue eyes revealed that fact. And he had the most impressive folder of all of them, even though he was just beginning his practice. He came from the best schools and teachers and was the best of his classes. He had also written a few theses on therapy practice that were close to revolutionary, though Gaara was not one to understand about what.

Gaara had been surprised that he hadn't been employed yet, but he wasn't complaining.

Speaking of therapy, Sakura was going in a couple days from now for an appointment. Gaara had never met Tai in person, but decided that he would escort Sakura to therapy to see if maybe he could enlist in the therapist's help. Paperwork and a pissed off Temari be damned.

Happy at the prospect of ditching his never ending pile of paper work, Gaara delved into them, hoping to make enough of a dent so that he did not become too swamped when he left them unattended.

----------------------------

Over the next two days, Temari slowly introduced Sakura into Suna politics. She showed her how to file paperwork, fill out portions of it to save Gaara time, taught her about Suna alliances and the wiles of bordering politicians, and was generally miserable because the most response she could get out of the rag-doll woman was a quirked eyebrow.

It was enough to drive a woman crazy.

Said blonde was currently glaring daggers at her new counterpart in work, willing the broken woman to suddenly develop a soul and a sense of humor. At this point Temari would gladly go back to the boredom of working on her own. At least the silence wasn't oppressive and eerie.

But Sakura did her job, and she was exceptional at it. But the girl definitely would not be up to actually interacting with delegates yet. Only if Suna wanted to scare them away…

A light bulb went on in Temari's mind. Gaara wanted nothing to do with that one Kage, so why not let delegations go through Sakura? He'd be creeped out enough to leave her brother alone for awhile.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Temari jumped. Sakura was late for her appointment! Gaara was going to kill her!

In a flurry of paper, Temari leapt from her seat and grabbed a _very_ mildly surprised Sakura from her stack of paperwork. Dragging the clueless pink-haired woman down the hallway, Temari stopped in front of Gaara's office and without knocking, barged in.

"Gaara! You're late! Here's Sakura! Go!"

Gaara glared from his position from behind his desk. She was acting like it was _his_ fault that he and Sakura were late. _He_ wasn't the one who was directly in charge of her. _He_ wasn't the one tasked to make sure she got to her physical therapy session on time; he was only to escort her there and observe the session to assure that she was receiving proper care.

He stood slowly, leaning his weight onto the tips of his fingers, leering at his huffing and puffing sibling. He made sure to make his feelings on her poorly thought out statement known through his heated gaze.

Temari gulped a bit and pushed Sakura toward her brother, knowing that she had placed the blame wrong and she had angered him.

"She has five minutes until she has to be over to the hospital. Now's not the time to rip my head from my shoulders."

Gaara sneered, but stepped around the desk and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulders, turning her around back toward the doors.

"I'll let it slide this time Temari. You can finish what you can that is in that pile. I expect it to be considerably smaller when I get back."

Temari gaped in disbelief as Gaara took Sakura by the elbow and led her gently out the double doors of his office.

He did _not_ just tell me to that!

Then the insomniac and the soulless shell disappeared from her sight.

----------------------

Gaara watched through the glass as Tai had Sakura jog on a treadmill, attached to numerous nodes that recorded how the pink haired woman moved and where she was having difficulties.

He took special note that the therapist treated Sakura with the utmost care, speaking in gentle and soft tones, encouraging her at everything she did. His eyes, whenever they looked at Sakura were filled with warmth and some emotion that seemed to grow through out the session.

Gaara also took special note that for some reason, both he and Shukaku disliked the way this Tai looked at Sakura. Hackles rose with each glance.

Gaara kept telling himself that he didn't give a shit, that Sakura was merely a way to somehow get his money and time back that he had afforded her to help her get better.

His only consolation was that Sakura remained unresponsive to every glance and every soft word that man gave her.

Not that he cared or anything. Heaven forbid he should care. Gaara didn't care about anything or anyone.

Gaara's chakra flared a bit as jealousy consumed his body for a short time before he clamped down on the foreign emotion. As he looked up his eyes clashed with dull, yet curious sea-foam green eyes.

He quickly glanced away and picked up a pamphlet on muscular dystrophy, a very interesting subject indeed.

-------------------

Inside Sakura was secretly quailing under Tai's care. She couldn't believe how much he was flirting with her, and she wanted more than anything to melt into the floor.

Not only did she have no desire whatsoever to interact with other people, but he looked like _Sasuke_. The boy who represented all her hopes and dreams, who crushed them all in one fell swoop.

She was just unable to find anything desirable in allowing herself to care about the man in front of her.

She sighed inside her mind and lifted her leg laden with weights. This strength training business was boring and overdone. She knew what would come out of Tai's mouth each time for each exercise.

Tai looked at her with laughing blue eyes.

"Very good Sakura. I see that you've kept up on your exercises. I'd say that you're about ready to begin your training with the Kazekage, very light training, but training nonetheless."

Tai gestured for said Suna ruler to enter the bare, sterilized, and padded room.

Gaara pushed the door next to him open gently and stepped through the portal, looking bored and disinterested as always. He approached the two, feet not making a sound. He seemed to pass through air without disturbing it.

Tai watched his Kazekage with envy. He had always wished for the grace of a ninja. He had contemplated as a child joining the ninja academy in his home country. But all the tales of how they were treated made him avoid joining and instead focus on medicine.

Though he had no ability to sense chakra or to manipulate it, he knew where some of the chakra flow points were.

But moving on…

Tai shook his head to clear his thoughts and smiled at the sand nin.

"Kazekage-sama. You are cleared to begin preliminary training with Sakura-san. I know most of the prelim will be strength training, but don't push too hard at first."

Gaara nodded his understanding, turning his eyes to look into Sakura's.

Her eyes were unreadable as always. Gaara frowned in his mind at her lack of response. Gaara turned back to the dark haired trainer.

"We shall begin immediately. As in right now. Thank you for your help. I'll make sure that she makes it to her next appointment. Contact Temari to set-up the next date."

With that, Gaara gently but firmly led Sakura out of the rehabilitation room and out of the hospital, glancing at nothing other than the road in front of him. He never released Sakura's shoulder.

-------------------------

Sakura woke from her stupor as Gaara came to a halt outside of a large, gymnasium type building. It looked newer than all the buildings surrounding it, and the hum of electricity and air conditioners met her ears.

Gaara watched as Sakura displayed a light curiosity about the building before. She turned and met his eyes.

"Where are we Gaara-san?"

He broke eye contact and looked up at the unmarked building.

"Welcome to Suna's new and improved ninja academy. This is where you will be training for the next year or so. Let's go get you an outfit appropriate for training in."

Sakura gave a minute glance down to her oversized tee-shirt and basketball shorts and shrugged, following quietly behind Gaara as he entered the building.

Goosebumps broke out over her skin, not due to the extremely cold air blasting out from the open door, but because that small part of her was cheering with joy. And that she felt the shadow of destiny pass over her slim form.

----------------------

A/N: And that would be the end of this chapter! I apologize for taking so long, but school's a bitch. Muah…I really enjoy writing this story, don't get me wrong, it's just that all my time went out the window without my express permission. Grrrr… And thank you my readers, my reviewers, my haters, for continuing to read this! Till next time! Ja ne!


	8. Something Wicked This Way Comes

Breakaway

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own Tai.

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Chapter 7: Something Wicked This Way Comes

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Shattered By Broken Dreams

By Avenged Sevenfold

I see you fading away from us.  
I'll miss you very much.  
Room with empty bottles, broken dreams,  
and pride still running high, always on your side.  
But I wanted more for you.  
You can't go on this way.  
And now I see it all fall through.  
We pray for better days.  
Stuck alone and scared.  
Throw your life away and now choking on your pride may be the only way.  
I don't want to see you like this.  
We all tried to save you but missed.  
I still feel the hope on your road.  
Now come back to us like the days of the old.  
I still feel you there, trying to get on top.  
You'll always have my support, in my heart.  
People you've hurt.  
Friends that you've lied to.  
But we understand, and that's not (you) can see the end of the road,  
I can see it too, for you, I'm scared, if I lose you, I'm not prepared.  
This time, if you die.  
I watch you, right before my eyes.  
Just trust me, and listen.  
You have no self control.  
This will take your life.  
Overdose and then indulge until you die.  
Pondering, we all ask the question why.  
Broken home, and then abandoned by your dad.  
And we are left the only family that you've ever had.  
Help you see it through.  
Fight this me and you.  
Reaching deep inside.  
Problems not just you is what we find.  
Our friendship makes it mine.

------------

Gaara moved quickly through the enormous gymnasium. Sakura looked about quietly as she followed, drinking in the new tiles, the polished wood floors, the high arching ceilings, the classrooms that lined the hallway filled with gennins and chuunins. It was a school in every word, just with the best hands on labs ever.

Gaara took a quick turn down a smaller hallway. This one was lined with windowless doors labeled 'storage' or 'weapons.' Halfway down, Gaara turned to one of the storage rooms.

Seeing that Gaara didn't have a key, she watched to see how he would get in. She saw, but not so much felt, his chakra flare into his hand. He pressed his glowing hand onto the wood of the door. Seals quickly lit up upon contact on the door and a soft click was heard.

Turning to look at Sakura, he gestured for her to follow as he turned the handle.

The door swung inward to reveal a veritable closet.

And all in black. Not a speck of color was to be found.

Sakura walked past Gaara without a glance, drinking in all the fishnet and jutsu treated material. Though no readable expression could be seen on her face, Gaara knew nostalgia when he saw it. He saw it in her movements, the way she would brush a hand over a shirt or a skirt, the way she blinked while glancing over the many shoes.

She missed this life, she just didn't realize it.

This caused Gaara to smile softly to himself. She wasn't beyond help yet, not when she clearly missed this lifestyle.

"If it fits and you want it Sakura, it's all yours. Take your time. I'll be down the hallway when you are finished."

Twirling with a flourish, Gaara left a tacit, and bewildered Sakura to actually pick what she wanted.

--------------

His purple eyes leered dangerously down at the paper before him. Now was not the time for the silly Suna git to be bothering him with rejection letters from earlier offered help. It was rather rude to throw back aide also, especially when _he_ was offering it.

And he felt it too, her presence. For hundreds of years, each elder generation coached the younger generation of his family on how to sense her. To wait for when she came back. To wait to try and reclaim her or destroy her.

This woman had almost wiped his clan off of the face of the earth, and she wouldn't do it again, not when they had finally reclaimed their old power, their prestige.

Quickly swiping his long, white bangs out of his eyes, he crumpled up the letter from the Kazekage in one deeply tanned hand. He could feel it, the residue of her power on it, burning his skin, sending chills up and down his spine in anticipation. A Haruno had finally grown into her power…and she would be his…

----------------

Sakura had spent an hour pulling clothes off of their hangers and putting them back up. Thus far she had most of her new training outfit picked out. All black to represent her change from who she was into someone new.

She would never return to Konoha or Fire Country, she knew this. This meant that if she wanted to restart everything, she had a clean slate. She could rebuild her image into something that she never was back in her old hidden village.

She stared down blankly at the onyx clothing laying in wait on the small table. A short skirt with slits that went ridiculously high, a black tube top that had fishnet that went up through a ring necklace and changed back to a solid black material like a turtleneck around her neck, though it could also double as a mask like Kakashi's. Lying next to these items were tie-on fishnet sleeves, with black satin ribbons to tie them on. Sakura had also selected two weapons bags that sat on her sides like gun holsters.

She still had to select some shoes. With that in mind, she walked silently over to the shoe rack and started perusing the maddening amounts of rows for something that caught her eye.

Gaara had returned, and was watching the mismatched pink-haired woman look at the shoes. It was the most life he had seen on her face in months. He let out a soft chuckle to himself, which in turn, startled Sakura.

Her eyes shot open in surprise and she started to whirl around. As her body twisted about, a bright light erupted from her form and her face changed from surprise, to horrified shock.

A yell ripped through her mouth, filled with pain and realization. Brackish, grey chakra erupted from her back and took the form of wings on her back. They spread and flapped, sending feathers of pure, uncontrolled chakra all over the room.

Gaara sat frozen in place in his own shock. He had never seen manipulation of chakra as he was seeing before him. It was an impressive display of both raw power and precise control. He was also shocked to feel Shukaku resurface, almost growling in approval at the sight before him.

Almost as soon as the display had started, it was over with, and Sakura's chakra wings disappeared back into her body as she collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Gaara stood in his place, trying to register in his mind what exactly had just happened. Shukaku snickered at Gaara then half-spoke to himself.

**_She's back, after all this time, she's brought us her strength and power and kindness again. Don't screw up with her Bijuu, she's sought after and needs to be protected until she can accept her duty and destiny. Put her back together or else I'll make sure that even your waking moments are nightmares._**

Gaara could feel the cruel smirk of the badger demon in his mind as he was lectured.

Scowling at being lectured by the very thing _he_ was imprisoning, Gaara moved into action and knelt next to Sakura. He started to gather her into his arms, but stopped when he realized his hands were in contact with the skin on her back.

Shocked to realize that her chakra had burned through the material of her shirt and bra, he carefully leaned her forward onto his leg so he could inspect the damage. He gasped at what was revealed to his eyes.

There, on the flawless pale skin of her back, were exact replica tattoos of the wings that had sprouted from her back. They were done in many shades of grey, from silver to black. If he moved, he found that the color shifted on the outlines of the tattoo.

Mystified, but not visibly showing it, he took a finger and traced it lightly over the slightly raised lines. He could feel the power humming just beneath the skin. It seeped into his finger and sent warmth and calm sprawling throughout his body. He quickly broke contact and frowned at his reaction to touching her.

Deciding that he should just take her back to his home, he finally collected her into his arms, making sure to pick up her outfit before walking back out of the room, shutting the jutsu-sealed door behind him. He ignored the strange looks he was receiving, walking with his head held high and a dangerous look in his eye.

---------------------

Sakura glared about her white surroundings, knowing exactly who was responsible for her passing out.

"I know you're responsible. How did you get out? Why would you do that? Get out here and face me like you usually would you self-serving ghost!"

Sakura stood in the midst of the white abyss, hands clenched angrily at her sides. She had locked her personality up for a reason. She wanted to preserve what little of her remained.

The pink-haired kunoichi whirled as she heard soft steps approaching her.

"_I'm sorry, I really am, but why can't you let me out? It would help you, contrary to what you believe. Please, embrace me…let's be whole like we were supposed to be…one and the same…"_

Sakura saw her other personality approach her, the figure made obscure by the blinding whiteness of everything. The one thing that stood out in sharp relief though was the pair tear-filled sea-glass green eyes. They were full of yearning, love, and betrayal. All for Sakura.

"_Why can't you love and accept me? Why can't you love and accept yourself? You're so much more than you think you are…"_

Sakura clapped her hands over her ears and shook her head vigorously. "No! No! I'm not! If I was, I could have stopped Sasuke! I could have helped Naruto all those times he's been hurt! But I couldn't…I'm useless; helpless…I'm nothing but a failure. I always have been, and I always will be."

Tears poured down her cheeks as distress filled her being, a fear of what exactly her inner self represented. "You are not me. If you were me, you wouldn't exist. You are someone else. Get away from me!"

The figure had been slowly approaching Sakura, who had sunk to her knees, but stopped at Sakura's order. The light veiled figure sighed sadly.

"_There will come a day when you will see who you really are…some stories are not mythology, but really true stories. Remember that Sakura. Until then, I will step back and honor your wishes…as much as it is killing me to let you continue on this route…"_

The figure then abruptly disappeared and left Sakura floating in the warm, vacant darkness of her own mind.

----------------------------------------------

Temari checked over Sakura's passed out form, with Gaara observing her almost anxiously. The tattoos were certainly strange and the physical feeling of power they were emanating constantly was even stranger.

And the strangest of all, was that the newly constructed muscles of Sakura's shoulders added up to how the tattoo was placed on her back. Temari turned and looked over at Gaara.

"The closest thing that explains this strange appearance is the growth into a bloodline trait, Gaara. Sakura is in the throws of inheriting her bloodline powers. It appears birdlike in nature. With a new musculature and the appearance of chakra wings, it has to be."

A whimpering came from Sakura's form, and both Gaara and Temari's heads snapped to see what was wrong.

Where Sakura had once been peaceful, it was now twisted in sadness, tears pouring down her cheeks to drop softly on the pillow underneath her head. Because Temari had been observing the tattoos on Sakura back, the pink-haired woman was laying on her stomach.

Gaara and Temari gasped as they watched the tattoo fade from Sakura's back like a figment of their imagination, as if had never been there at all.

Temari's fingers gently traced the place the tattoos had been, and was disappointed when the warm power that had emanated from the lines had also disappeared. "She's fighting it. She can suppress it with sheer will. But why? The power she displayed was incredible; it was everything she could have wanted."

Temari looked at Gaara for an explanation because he was the only one experienced with an eerie and grand power. Gaara looked curiously down at Sakura's form. Inside he was worried. Bloodlines can't just be suppressed; they are an integral part of who a person is. Denying that power can destroy a person from inside out, especially one so strong. There was something missing…

Gaara stopped staring at the unconscious, now calm woman to look at his sister. "She's afraid of whom she's becoming, afraid of what lurks within. So she suppresses it so she doesn't have to face it. Change is one of the scariest things a being can face, especially when everything that person believed to be true was turned into a lie. Sakura's whole life has been a lie. That's why she's broken. All she has to cling to is herself and when her own soul becomes a lie, where does that leave her? Who does that leave her? She's terrified of losing the last thing she knows, the last thing she has. I'd be terrified also…"

Temari looked back down at Sakura, a sad look on her face. This woman suffered so much, and now this was thrown in her face. With quiet hands, Temari started running her fingers through Sakura's hair, hoping to offer comfort. "Why her?"

Gaara shrugged. "We know not why some of us were meant to suffer, others to live happily. It's just the way things are. Leave her be until she wakes Temari. Suna doesn't rest even though crises occur. We have work to do."

He gently placed his hand on his sister's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Temari stood up reluctantly and followed her brother out of the room, giving one last sympathetic gaze to the hurt woman.

-----------------------------------------------

Purple eyes narrowed once again. He'd lost her signature. It had just disappeared. And it irritated him to no end. Did she die? What would be powerful enough except him to kill a transformed Haruno?

He snarled to himself. Nothing but him could kill a Haruno, so something else must have happened. It was written that the transformation was often rough on the one the powers were bestowed upon. Maybe she wasn't ready yet.

Fine by him. More time to plan about what he would do to her when he finally had her in his possession.

He clapped his hands and servants appeared out of the very walls. All bowed before the head of their household.

With a cruel smirk, he spoke. "Retrieve my sister and start packing my things for a weeklong visit to Suna. Make sure to pack my best clothes; I have someone I need to impress and woo."

The servants bowed and responded. "Hai Domo-sama. It is done."

The servants backed up to fade into the shadowy walls once again. If there was one thing his family was good at, it was taking bloodlines for slaves. He had a whole line that was used as servants and spies. They could travel by shadow through walls and hide easily in corners to gather information for their master.

It was a nifty trick he'd learned from the Hyuuga family. He might one day use it on that family too. But for now, he needed to capture the power that was Haruno, the power that almost destroyed his clan two hundred years ago. He would then use her to take over whole countries and to give him powerful sons. Nothing would be a greater insult to her.

He chuckled to himself, his fingers steepled before his face. He looked forward to the hunt. His bloodline would win this time, for the same mistakes wouldn't be made.

--------------------------------------------

When Sakura had woken back up, neither Gaara nor Temari made mention of what had happened. If she wished to speak about it, she would speak.

The pink haired woman wasted no time changing out of her ripped shirt and jeans to change into her new nin uniform. Standing before the mirror, her face hidden by the mask, Sakura felt much better. Guilt and nothingness was easier to hide this way. This must be why Kakashi never took his mask off.

Sakura gathered her patchy hair and put it into a high ponytail, held up with black ribbon. She looked every vision a new and deadly Sakura. One that would be stronger, more resilient. She clenched her gloved fists at her sides, making the thin leather creak in distress.

No, this time she would be the master. She would claw her way to recognition and shove it in Konoha's face. What they gave up, what they cast aside thinking it rubbish. But she needed to take on a new name, at least for her operations out and about once she was back into top shape and making a new name for herself.

She would decide on that name later, for now her failure name was sufficient until she actually started missions.

She heard the knock on her door and gave permission for entrance. She was not surprised to see Gaara walk in. He stopped for a moment to take in her new uniform, his face showing neither disapproval nor approval.

"I see that you have changed. Would this mean that you are ready to take on rigorous Suna ground jutsu training?"

Sakura inclined her head shallowly to show her affirmative. Gaara nodded his head back.

"Very well Sakura. Let us head to the school. I will personally teach you so you don't have to sit with a bunch of unruly gennins."

He stepped aside from the door, his hand gesturing for Sakura to leave first. Sakura eyed him wearily, but walked through.

"I'm not going to start taijutsu until we stretch out and enlarge your chakra reserves again. I'm sure that after all this time they have shrunk significantly. So you needn't worry about me out right attacking you. Yet."

He followed the pink haired woman out of her room, happy to a spark back alive in her eyes, though he knew that spark to be a dangerous one to have. Sakura wanted to destroy someone or something…she was starting to feel the throws of revenge.

-----------------------------------

Sakura panted from her now collapsed position on the floor. Re-expanding her chakra reserves quickly was a painful process. Gaara would have her power up, then after asking which way her chakra swirled, pumped his own massive amounts into her full, but small reserves. This forced them to stretch out, and have room for more of her own.

She felt like Gaara was breaking her apart atom from atom. But when he drew back his chakra, she noticed a significant difference. She was astonished at how they had apparently doubled. They were still a long ways from where they used to be, but a two hundred percent increase in such a small time was amazing.

"That was quick Gaara…maybe 10 minutes?"

Gaara shook his head, looking down at the sweat drenched kunoichi with a small smile. "Try two hours Sakura. Going that fast would kill you. You think it was such a short amount of time because the pain distracted you, but it takes a long time and meticulous control to force-expand someone else's chakra. It is a painful, arduous, tiring, long process for both people."

Sakura just then took notice that Gaara's brow had broken out in sweat.

"I am no medic nin, and the precise control they own to control the rotation of their own chakra is an ability that taxes me and takes a great deal more concentration than I am used to. My control is admirable, but not so fine or meticulous."

Sakura nodded. She had spent years in that dratted Konoha hospital, so she knew what he was speaking of.

"You took the expansion well though. If you can handle it, we'll double it again in an hour. It'll take longer next time, but it will be well worth it."

Sakura nodded and stood. She walked over to where some canteens hung on the wall. Lifting one she turned to watch her new sensei as he settled down into the lotus position, so that he could meditate and recoup his chakra and calm himself down.

She took a swig from the canteen and hung it back up on the wall.

It was strange, the Kazekage taking this much interest in one person. He wasn't gentle in the least, don't get her wrong. He spared her no pain, giving her the full experience so that she would not be sheltered. So she would know what would be headed her way.

But he used to care for no one except Temari and Kankuro. Then Naruto came into that small group. So how did she end up as a part of this small group? She'd done nothing noteworthy to earn a space here. Shrugging, she turned her thoughts away from such thoughts, deeming it best to not look a gift horse in the mouth.

He was willing to teach her, transform her into what she should have been years ago; a powerful kunoichi of renown. And she wouldn't let her chance pass her by just because she felt a bit paranoid. Besides, Gaara had proven himself honorable a long time ago, before she had been cast aside by Konoha, before she had lost faith in everyone and everything.

With an internal sigh, she set herself to stretching out her limbs. Gaara may have said that taijutsu wasn't in the near future, but she wanted to be sure that she was ready, even in the smallest way, for it. And she had never been limber enough as a genin or a chuunin, and limberness meant grace, so if she worked for it, her kills would be done as art: gracefully.

Her first order of priority was her legs. She needed to do the splits. Both ways. She slowly bent forward, placing her hands flat on the wooden gym floor. Her legs began to spread apart increment by small increment until she felt the pull of her muscles stop her from moving farther. She was still an embarrassingly long way from reaching the full split.

Not to be out done, she pushed a bit farther, reveling in the light pain that washed over her. It meant she was alive and that she could feel something.

Deeming her split stretch to be done, she stood back up. Glancing up at the clock, she was unhappy to find that only ten minutes had passed by. With a sigh, she dropped and immediately started doing push-ups. If there was one thing she had learned, it was that push-ups were key. Rock Lee was an amazing taijutsu user, and all he did all day was pretty much push-ups and running laps. Kakashi was excellent too, and he did thousands of single finger push-ups in mere hours, before switching to a finger on his other hand.

Huffing to herself, she began pushing away. And was dismayed when she collapsed finally after only fifty push-ups. She used to be able to do five hundred before having to switch to another or both arms. She had a long way to go. Tai had only returned her to normal civilian strength, not nin strength. This was why Gaara had taken over.

She once again glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes had passed, forty to go. She didn't understand why time was crawling by so slowly. It was almost painful to just sit here. Lying on her back, Sakura tried to recall a jutsu she had learned by observation in the hospital back in Konoha. She had many committed to memory from just watching, from hoping that she would be allowed back.

She wanted a rejuvenation jutsu, to take part of her chakra and use it to restore her physical stamina. Carefully reconstructing it her mind, she began forming seals and molding her chakra to her hands. She then placed her hands on her shoulders and pumped the chakra slowly in, instantly feeling the ache disappear from her shoulders and biceps.

Finished and rejuvenated, she glanced up at the clock and was shocked to find that forty minutes had disappeared and that Gaara was collecting himself off of the floor.

He looked down at a wide eyed Sakura in mild surprise and a little curiosity. She had obviously done something, the question that remained was what? The kunoichi quickly scrambled to stand and looked up at him.

"Ready."

Gaara nodded, waiting as she powered her chakra stored to full again. She finished quicker than he had anticipated, but without asking, he reached out and began to slowly force his own chakra into hers, making sure it mixed properly. He intended to get her stores almost as big as his. But the time and effort it would take would be enormous. He didn't expect to have her chakra stores fully expanded until the end of the month. This was if he doubled the size each time they did it, and did it two times a day everyday.

Which obviously wouldn't happen because one, each time they expanded her stores, it would take longer to both recover and do the expanding again; two, Gaara and Sakura both had other things to do besides do the expansion; three, a powerful clan head had announced his intent to visit Suna. Gaara was a little nervous about this, for this clan had been gaining power at a manic pace and had already overthrown two other clans and forced them into servitude.

Granted that this leader had offered Gaara help, but something about the man made both Gaara's and Shukaku's hackles rise. There was not much he could do about it though, for the man had made not threatening moves toward Suna. So he had to offer his hospitality. He only hoped his instincts were wrong…

--------------------------------------

A/N: End of chapter! Review!


	9. Arrival of Premonitions and Dangers

Breakaway

-------------------

Chapter 8: Arrival of Premonitions and Dangers

-------------------

New Beginning by Trapt

The pressure is building I want to break away  
Motivation is lacking the point starts to fade  
I look to the bottom still empty still the same  
I'm waiting for something to show me the way  
To the path that I should take, it's just too real to go ahead and fake  
Every step that I make  
Name your price I would give anything  
I want to start over again  
What do I want I have nothing to say  
Whatever it is I want it today  
Do we choose our own ground Do we choose to stay  
Well I've seen too many throw it away

Do I see just one small chance to be myself to try and make it last  
Every step that I take

----------------

The weeks had flown by for Sakura in a blur of aches and pains. Not from physical activities mind you, but from the simple act of sitting still for hours on end. As time progressed, the chakra expansions did indeed start taking longer. Her last session had been almost 10 hours, and Gaara had looked so exhausted when they had finished, she thought he was going to pass out.

Along with all of the chakra expansion that Gaara had been doing, Sakura had been doing her own physical workouts. She could now do about 200 normal push-ups without use of chakra and run miles at a time without getting overly exhausted. Her flexibility was amazing too. She could bend in ways she never could before and her balance was almost perfect.

She felt feline grace being etched into the very core of her being. Fluidity was her game. She bent and swayed in ways to make willow trees jealous and walked with such quiet that she was now able to sneak up on Temari and give the blonde a couple of scares a day.

Sakura also felt the need to exercise her newfound grace upon the unsuspecting male populace of Suna. She found a sick amusement in distracting men to look at her while they walked into walls or other people.

Of course, no male could see the whole of her face due to the face mask she never took off. She'd wear normal civilian clothing while not training, but the mask never came off anymore except to eat, and she only ate in the privacy of Gaara's home. They already knew who she was, so there was no reason to hide from them.

In those few weeks, Kankuro had emerged from his room. When Sakura first saw him, she saw, not so much of a broken look, as a completely haunted, possessed look. He took minutes to respond to questions asked of him. It took both Sakura and Temari restraining Gaara to keep the vicious red head from ripping his brother's limbs off when he failed to respond to a question for two whole minutes.

Gaara took to ignoring Kankuro, while Temari kept sending her puppeteer brother to the hospital. The doctors were mystified to say the least, and had no clue how to cure the tattooed youth. The most they could do was offer to keep him there and out of the Kazekage's way, as the date approached for a far off clan to visit. Deep down, something was warning Sakura that she needed to be on her guard, something was coming and it smelled of disaster.

Her response was to double her efforts in training, going days without sleep if she could help it.

----------------

Gaara sat back, soaked through and through with sweat as he finished the last of the chakra expansions. He could barely believe that he had done it, but Sakura's own chakra reserves were as vast as his own. This last expansion had taken a whole day, and taken all he had to pump his chakra in.

If anything, he was proud of his work, and the effort Sakura was putting in on her own towards taijutsu. Her grace rivaled his own, though she was certainly more flexible than he. She had also earned a certain awe in his hidden village. All would stop and stare as the patchwork girl with a mask on floated by, a deadly air radiating from her form. But the look was still there.

Gaara couldn't make her shake off her apathy. She was still dead in one way, alive in another. Occasionally he would see the heated spark of passionate hatred enter her eyes as he watched her train on her own.

The far off look while that hate lingered in her eyes indicated exactly who was driving her to perform better. Konoha. She was going to find a way to exact revenge on her old village. And Gaara was beginning to wonder if he would be able to stand in her way when she went in for the kill. They way they treated her was inexcusable, but his village was allied with Konoha, so he couldn't just set her loose to do as she wished.

He sighed and helped Sakura stand up from the floor. There were bruises on her knees from kneeling for so long, but it was over now. Her chakra stores were complete, ahead of schedule even, for the visiting clan still had a few days before they arrived.

Rearranging his sweaty clothes on himself, Gaara sighed in his head at all the preparations that had yet to be done to accommodate his traveling guests. Suna still had a couple of buildings that needed finishing touches and the suites to house the lord and his entourage were no where near being ready.

Seems that civilians and other nin were incapable of getting all the sand out of the carpeting. This is where he came in with his control over the cursed substance. He'd use his sand to clean out all the other harsh, ordinary grains from the tan carpeting and from all the nooks and crannies of the room. This was in order to not upset the softer nature of those who did not normally live in the desert. Grains of sand easily chafe those who are not used to it. He was not at all happy to be doing menial tasks such as cleaning rooms, but he guessed that if he told the visiting lord that he had cleaned it himself, it might give him a few more kudos.

Gaara snorted at his thought. What the hell was he thinking, trying to impress another? He didn't need to prove himself to anyone.

He stalked out of the dojo with quick, angry strides, leaving a mildly amused Sakura behind.

-------------

Sakura sighed internally. This was always one thing she'd rather avoid if she could. But much to her irritation, Gaara always forced her to go. Threats of breaking her fingers in ten different places- and actually breaking one occasionally- was effective in making her go.

But it was so pathetic, she couldn't even describe…

"You have a clean bill of health Miss Sakura. Your physical therapy with me is done. I'm glad to see you so well. You've gained considerable weight, though I'm afraid that the scarring on your face, legs, and arms is beyond my ability to repair."

Sakura shrugged uncaringly. She just wanted the idiot doctor to stop trying to flirt with her and let her go. These were minutes that could have been better spent trying to remember her basic jutsus from gennin school, or practicing taijutsu before Gaara owned her in that.

She had no time for mushy, sappy civilians who didn't know any better.

Tai couldn't figure out her expression due to her new mask, but he thought that he had her devout attention. And now that she was no longer his patient, now was the time to make his move.

"Miss Sakura, are you free this evening? I was wondering if you wouldn't mind joining me in dinner at the Ramen stand a couple blocks away."

Sakura swore in her head. She didn't want his attentions. Her goal the whole time she was being rehabilitated by him was to make him loathe her. Attempt failed.

"I must check with the Kazekage. May I go now?"

Tai looked a bit disgruntled at her answer. Here he was, a handsome well-paid doctor who had every nurse in the building falling at his feet without him so much as trying, and he couldn't get a simple patient to go out with him. It wasn't like he was asking her to sleep with him. He wanted to win her over. There was something about her that drew him to her like a moth to the flame.

She was like gravity sucking him in.

He nodded though, understanding that the woman did have responsibilities placed upon her by the Kazekage.

"Get back to about whether you can or cannot when you get word okay?"

Sakura shook her head. "I have no guarantees. The Kage is hosting a very important guest soon, and things have become very busy as of late. He was reluctant to send me even today." Lies…she had the broken fingers to prove it. But no one had told her that she had to tell the truth, and wasn't a shinobi all about deception?

Eager to be out, Sakura fled the hospital in mere seconds before Tai could open his mouth again. Once out in the open streets and the Suna sun, Sakura waltzed down the main strip. For once she actually bothered to take in her surroundings. Most of the shops had new fronts, mainly due to the reconstruction after the Sasuke ordeal.

As she padded silently down the packed dirt road of Suna, Sakura could feel eyes tracking her every movement. It wasn't a feeling that set her on edge though. Instead, each gaze was filled with wonder and awe.

Walking past a tiny hair salon, something brought Sakura to a dead stop. She turned and looked at it, seeing that it was one of the few stores that had survived the aftermath. Something inside her told her that she needed to go in there…and she couldn't ignore the sensation though she tried.

With out glancing around, Sakura strode into the salon with no hesitation in her step.

----------------

Temari growled viciously to herself. She had just been subject to a chewing from her brother. Who was amazingly displaying a lot of worry for someone who was not a sibling.

Sakura had gone to the therapists over two hours ago and should have come back by now. Temari knew that no actual therapy would have been done today because she had surpassed the need for it a while ago. It was supposed to have been an in-and-out ordeal.

Temari herself was not that worried, but she had made the observation a half hour ago to her brother that Sakura had not returned yet. If she had known how quickly that would have set Gaara off, she would never have said anything. Besides, Sakura could take care of herself again. And she was free to wander around Suna as she wished, though she did have some work to do right now.

Temari had finally convinced Gaara to calm down a bit and sit back down behind his desk. He was now taking his worry and anger out furiously on unsuspecting paperwork. It was the fastest she had ever seen him go through a stack. He should be angry more often.

A hand landed on Temari's shoulder out of thin air, and Temari bit back a girlish scream of surprise. She whirled around to find Sakura…only it took her a few seconds to register that it was Sakura. Temari sat back, struck silent by her surprise at what she saw.

Sakura did a shallow, but polite bow to Temari.

"I apologize for my lateness, but I got a little sidetracked. Does the Kage know of my lateness?"

Temari struggled to find words, but none issued forth. Instead, she dumbly pointed to the large double oak doors that guarded the way to the Kazekage's office.

Sakura nodded and walked silently to and through the doors.

'_Oh man…Gaara's gonna shit kittens when he sees that…'_ Temari thought.

----------------

It took three seconds flat for Gaara to see and process what Sakura had done. Though this shouldn't have bothered him normally, he had been fretting over her welfare in secret for the past half-hour. Any way to vent his anger out on her without giving away his worrying about her was welcome.

"What the _hell _did you do to your hair Sakura?"

Sakura didn't even flinch at his question and drew a breath to answer his question, but was quickly interrupted.

"_That_ is what has kept you from returning immediately to your post for the past two hours? You have work to be getting done for the arrival of the clan tomorrow, and here you are, _dying your hair black_?! You think I saved your ass for free Sakura? You have a debt to pay back for both me saving your life, and teaching you to be nin again."

And sure enough, Sakura's hair was black as night, with only a single multi-pink chunk that remained like Ino's bangs out of her high ponytail.

Sakura bowed lightly in apology. "If I have worried you in my absence, it was unintentional. I was driven by impulse to walk into the salon on my way back. It was one of those urges that you cannot ignore at the time, almost like instinct."

Gaara snorted. "I wasn't worried. I was furious that you would blow of work that I offered you out of the almost non-existent kindness in my heart."

**_Lies…you were worried…kukuku…the great and powerful Gaara, caring for another being enough to be worried._**

'_Shut up you stupid beast. You were no help either, nagging me about promises I didn't make to you about keeping the girl safe.' _Gaara snarled to his caged awareness, unhappy that it was right.

**_Don't talk slanderously of what you don't know. You have no clue what this girl is or what she stands for do you? Stupid vassal. It's not worth my time to explain to you, just make sure that nothing happens to her until she is ready. And her hair…just know that she did the right thing when she did that. Until later runt. Kukukuku…_**

Gaara was now red in the face, looking like he might spontaneously combust into flames. Sakura was amused at his antics as he had suddenly grown quiet and inwardly focused. She knew he was talking to the monster that was hidden in his soul. Ironic that the one thing that gave Gaara his vast power was the one thing that Gaara couldn't tear apart when it insulted him.

Seeing a raised eyebrow and a ghost of a smirk hidden by her mask, Gaara realized that Sakura was laughing at him in her own way.

"Demons haunting you today Kazakage?"

Gaara's frown deepened, and his one handed grip on his desk managed to snap through the thick oak. His other hand pointed deliberately to his door, and he dared not say a word.

Without complaint or resistance, Sakura took her leave of Gaara's presence and headed straight for Temari's desk for some work to do.

----------------

The next day there was a frenzy in Suna. It would be the first time since the Sasuke incident that the hidden village would be presented as whole. Shop keepers swept the sand from their store floors and using precious water, scrubbed everything they could. Wives were out in the street beating rugs free of dust and sand, and children were dressed in their best for when the procession arrived.

Gennins or those still being schooled- as they were the highest students Suna had at the time besides Gaara and family- were practicing for when the visitor would tour their school. No one wanted to look bad.

Sakura however was uninterested in all the activity going on around her. She went about her daily life as usual, though was thoroughly entertained by a spazzing Temari who wondered if the beige or the white shirt looked more professional. Gaara seemed to be on edge also, though not as noticeably as his sister. His was seen in how he let some things that usually bothered him slide, and others that usually didn't bother him drive him nuts.

It appeared that her apathy towards upcoming events also ticked off Gaara, which only increased her amusement, and she made sure to smirk at him from beneath her mask, or mock him with a bare smile at dinner. What was wrong with taking a walk on the wild side and taunting the most dangerous person in all of the hidden villages? It added a little spice to her life.

When the time came for the traveler's appearance, Sakura felt spooked as something inside her resounded like a huge bell. She was suddenly set on edge, and her insides quivered in anticipation and her muscles were taut like rubber bands, ready jump into motion at a moments notice. It was strange, this feeling…it's like she'd felt it before…

The village was now lining the main road and the first parts of the traveler's entourage were arriving. Cheers and hellos were shouted and exchanged. Sakura stood next to Gaara, and she could tell that he knew she was on edge.

He gave her his patented smirk, and she was being taunted in retaliation of her taunting earlier.

Giving him a scowl from beneath her mask, she kept her eyes focused on the trail of foreigners, looking to see if any moved with hidden grace. That posture of a ninja. And she could spot a few openly, and some she questioned.

The procession was fairly opulent for being in the middle of the desert. Many of the travelers were dressed in the bright colors of the house they served, and were too heavy for the heat which was marked by sweat spots around the armpits and neck. Banners bearing the crest of the house were everywhere, a black lion set in front of a gold lightning bolt.

Again that feeling struck her and set her insides quivering…there was something about that symbol…

Then came the main part of the procession, all mounted on magnificent horses of all colors. At the head sat a proud looking young man with long, beautiful white hair and stunning purple eyes. All the female voices immediately set to murmuring in the Suna crowd as they caught sight of him.

Because she was standing on one side of Gaara, and was part of the welcoming committee, she and the strange man locked eyes for a moment of appraisal. For the one second that their eyes were connected, Sakura was filled with a bone deep hatred and terror. It was the most emotion she'd felt since Konoha. She didn't think that anything could compare with what she had just felt in that moment.

The man gave her no extra interest as he completed the approach to the Kazekage. Dismounting his tall bay horse, he walked gracefully over Gaara and nodded his head in greeting.

Sakura kept her eyes locked onto the man, not trusting him in the least now. Though she was not as good as Gaara, she would protect him to the best of her ability if this man tried anything funny. Her body was practically humming with distrust. She'd never experienced such an immediate hate and dislike for anyone. Not even Naruto had warranted this response.

Gaara however held no such reservations or distrust, or at least didn't openly display it. He returned the wordless greeting.

"Welcome to the Hidden Village of Sand, Suna. We are honored with your presence and are happy to see that you made the trip across the desert safely. You must be tired. Let us show you to your rooms."

The white haired man nodded, a light smile on his face.

"You are most gracious Kazekage, to open your village to us, especially after the disaster of the rogue nin tearing through your village. I am happy to see that Suna appears to have recovered well."

Gaara gave no response, but gestured for the man to follow him. As Gaara and the man stepped off, a small group of servants bearing trunks and other accoutrements immediately followed along, with the empty-handed Temari and Sakura following after. Temari had a secretive smile on her face. Sakura knew she was laughing at how her brother was now forced to be diplomatic even if something happened or was said that he didn't like.

It was going to be a most interesting week.

-------------------------

Though Sakura had an instinctive hate and fear of the man, she refused to leave Gaara alone with him. Some protective streak in her had been ignited upon eye contact with the man now known as Hattatsu Chudoku of the Tenkan Clan.

Something was awakening in her, or struggling to.

Gaara had showed the modest surroundings of Suna to his guest after showing the servants to his guest's room for them to start unpacking. Suna was by no means the most beautiful or elegant of places in all the countries, but it had a rough beauty. The type you respected.

Sakura, through out this whole endeavor, managed to remain relatively unnoticed for always being present. Temari didn't say anything about the strange behavior Sakura was displaying, but when she was dismissed to continue her work elsewhere, she shot Sakura an odd look.

The sun was finally setting, and dinner had been eaten in a manner that was garish for even Temari, for Chudoku's cooks had commandeered the kitchen. Foods that were otherwise unavailable had appeared on the table and food was strangely spiced. Sakura had only eaten food that she recognized and that remained relatively unspiced.

Chudoku was finally retiring to his quarters when he had stood up from the table. Before he said his goodbye's though, he turned and looked at Sakura, but addressed Gaara.

"You have a very loyal bodyguard here Kage-san. She has not left your side at all this day. I did not catch her name when I first arrived."

Gaara opened his mouth to offer up information, but Sakura quickly interrupted, spurting out "Hakuchoyami Tsugihagi, sire."

Gaara glared but did not chastise her in front of Chudoku, realizing why she had interrupted.

"Ah. Patches. It suits you I guess from what I see of your skin. How did you come across such scars?"

Sakura let a second hang between them before she answered.

"A penance sire. A price paid for a new start."

He glanced at the single strip of pink hair that remained amongst Sakura's hair. "And how about that odd color among your black hair? How'd you come about that?"

"Every nin who wishes to make their mark on the world, needs that one thing that will let their victims know who has struck them down. Mine is a stripe of pink amongst black. Rather fashionable too, though it is a pain to dye the hair white before adding the pink."

Chudoku seemed to take this answer and tuck it away to analyze later as he nodded at Sakura. "Nice to have met you Tsugihagi." He turned back to Gaara and nodded. "I must retire for the night. Traveling so far has taken some of its toll on me along with today's activities. Will I get to see your new academy tomorrow? I would greatly enjoy that."

Gaara nodded his affirmative and started to walk down an adjacent hallway to the clan leader's quarters. Chudoku gave Sakura a final glance, one that was searching and suspicious, then turned and followed Gaara down the hallway.

Sakura let loose a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. This was going to be a long visit. And she got the sneaking suspicion that something bad was going to happen. And it was going to happen soon.

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A/N: And end chapter. I apologize for taking so long, but I have a lot of other things I have to take care of, along with a relatively high maintenance, emotional boyfriend. (whispers conspiratorially I thought women were supposed to be the easily offended, moody ones…) But here it is. Not the best, but the best I could manage. Also, if you wanted to know, the name of the clan leader stands for 'poisoning growth' and Sakura's name stands for Patches DarkSwan. I wanted to do one that stood for ragdoll, but it sounded silly. And I can't speak or write Japanese, so forgive me if the names don't work out as names in real Japanese. This is the art of imagination and the author ignoring the rules of language and doing what she wants. laughs


	10. Simply Because

Breakaway

Chapter 9: Simply Because

* * *

"The Devil's Own" by Five Finger Death Punch

The Devil's own  
Why!?

Where did I go wrong? Who was I supposed to be?  
No matter what I've done, you've always criticized me  
Where did I go wrong? Who was I supposed to be?  
When it's said and done, will you remember...

Slap on the wrist, smack in the face  
The family tree, gave me a name and nothing more  
Neglected seed, why!?

It's because of you I'm broken  
It's because of you I'm dead inside  
I never asked to be here  
It's because of you I'm godforsaken  
I never wanted this  
It's because of you I'm dead inside

Where did I go wrong? Who was I supposed to be?  
No matter what I've done, you've always criticized me  
What did I do wrong? Who was I supposed to be?  
When it's said and done, will you remember me?

A happy home, a fairy tale, a broken dream  
Gave me a life, then turned away  
Killed everything, why!?

It's because of you I'm broken  
It's because of you I'm dead inside  
I never asked to be here  
It's because of you I'm godforsaken  
I never wanted this  
It's because of you I'm dead inside

Fuck!  
Father, bastard, I'm the Devil's very own  
Mother, know not, just who I've become  
Father, hate me, for being all your not  
Mother's baby, I hate what I've become  
I hate what I've become  
I hate what I've become

It's because of you I'm broken  
It's because of you I'm dead inside

Where did I go wrong? Who was I supposed to be?  
No matter what I've done, you've always criticized me  
What did I do wrong? Who was I supposed to be?  
When it's said and done, will you remember me?

* * *

Was she the only one that could feel the ominous oppression in the air, the feeling that the very air you were breathing became so thick with anticipation and caution that it forced you to hold your breath? It was possible, because everyone around her smiled and enjoyed their days as the Clansmen visited and inspected the town.

It was enough to drive a lesser broken and unfeeling person insane. And it was almost doing it to her. Her blood was singing in her veins to enact the oldest of human instincts: fight or flight. And flight was out of the question. She couldn't leave the person who saved her life with the sleazy white-haired snake. The very thought of abandoning Gaara to the clutches of Chudoku enacted a different instinct. One of intense protectiveness. She didn't understand where the feeling came from, but neither did she question it. She simply accepted it.

And this was why Sakura constantly found herself next to Gaara, but as far as she could physically get away from Chudoku without it being too open and disrespectful. She didn't trust Clansman as far as she could throw him, which was quite a distance, so a rather inappropriate comparison. Maybe like as far as she originally would have been able to throw him when she was a member of Konoha. Yes, a much better comparison.

It was halfway through the week, and the Suna inhabitants decided it would be fun to host a festival in honor of their visitor. It had been planned for a while and invitations sent out to neighboring allies and friends to come and enjoy the merriment. Meaning Konoha might be there.

Which is why the black haired and clothed kunoichi had now found herself being lectured by her employer about not killing any Konoha natives.

"Sakura, I know it is tempting, knowing what they have done to you. But you need to contain any ill feelings you may harbor for them. Konoha is Suna's ally, and should you decide to attack with out having been attacked first, I will disown you from Suna and stamp you as missing nin. You have to understand that my village's safety comes before your need to enact revenge. You understand?"

Sakura gave a shallow nod from her position in front of the Kazekage's desk. Her sea green eyes sparked at the idea of being able to whoop up on some her disbelievers from Konoha and shove her new abilities in their face.

"How about a friendly challenge Kage? A judged match that can be stopped and have a declared winner without killing the opponent? Could we have some nin games as a part of the entertainment for the festival?"

Gaara stopped to pause on that, his green eyes suddenly thoughtful of the idea. His brow crinkled and mouth formed a slight frown as he began to roll the idea around. His gaze was locked on her. After a few moments he responded.

"That is actually not a bad idea as far as entertainment goes. Though Suna won't have many contenders, just you and Temari. A few nins from the surrounding villages may want to have the opportunity to show off their skills. The only problem is if you will be able to contain yourself Sakura."

Sakura knew that to be a legitimate warning. She also didn't know if she would be able to contain it. Unless it was Naruto she ended up fighting, any other Konoha nin may find themselves buried the next morning. Such was her emotional instability and raw power fueled by her pseudo hate.

Gaara could see the spark in her eyes at the prospect of beating Leaf nin literally into the ground. And it was a morbid, macabre look. It almost smacked of evil, it was so dark a spark. And he could relate to her with the way she had been treated, but he also knew she had to control it, as Konoha was a key ally.

"Promise me you won't kill or permanently decommission anyone in the bouts and I will agree to having them and letting you take part in them bearing Suna's crest."

Some part of Sakura was disappointed by this agreement, but as she thought about it, complete humiliation was so much better than killing. Letting them know that there was nothing they could have done to defeat her. She also wished she could reveal her identity to the other combatants, but some part of her screamed at her and filled her with terror at the very thought of unmasking in front of the Clan Leader. There was something about him…

"You have my promise Kazekage."

Sakura took a shallow bow in front of Gaara, her black hair with pink stripe bobbing a bit with her movement.

At that moment Temari walked in, and smiled at both Gaara and Sakura.

"Chudoku-sama is awaiting us to go to lunch. He wants to go eat at one of the local restaurants today."

Sakura frowned. The very mention of him sent shivers of fear up and down her spine and caused her hair to stand on end.

More dining in his presence. Great. Just what she wanted…

As Gaara got up to leave, he called to his sister, "And Temari? Send invites to surrounding Hidden Villages that we are hosting a festival tournament. Winner will get the purse made from entry fees."

Temari nodded her head, her blond pony tails swaying. "And may I participate?"

Gaara nodded. "Both you and Sakura will fight under the Suna mark."

Temari had a flash worry cross her eyes as she contemplated something. "And Konoha is invited brother?"

Gaara caught her thought and gave her a reassuring look. "Yes they are, but all the bases have been covered. There is nothing to worry about, because nothing bad is going to happen. Tsugi has been given her guidelines as to what is allowed."

Temari visibly relaxed and smiled at Sakura. "Ready to try some of Suna's famous interpretations of Mist Country dishes?" A grumble from Sakura's stomach betrayed her before she could answer for herself.

Giving a small, wan smile to Temari, the kunoichi pulled her black face mask up, hiding most of her patchwork face. In an instant she had converted from Sakura to the lethal nin Tsugihagi, self-appointed bodyguard to the Kazekage of Wind Country and Hidden Village of the Sand.

Onto protecting him from an unseen enemy that only she could sense…

* * *

The week passed, and it was time for the festival to start. Sakura had some time to herself and was walking amongst the stalls that were being erected in the streets and the lights that were being strung up in preparation for night fall.

Her main destination was located outside of main Suna, where damage from nin attacks would be minimized on the still recovering town. As she approached it she could see the stands set up for people to watch the matches, though it was rather pointless. Nin moved so fast that the average, untrained eye wouldn't be able to catch most of the movements.

She wasn't hiding the fact that she was nin, her new Sand nin insignia proudly displayed on her forehead. Throughout the day she had spotted several nin she recognized, and many she didn't. A few that she knew had passed her without a second look, making Sakura snicker. Either she was that good, or they had truly forgotten her.

Either way, they would get theirs. Only one person knew she was alive and that was Naruto, and he knew she was here. She knew this because she had spotted him earlier asking Gaara where she was.

The sneaky Kage simply said that he did not know of a Sakura, but if Naruto wished for a good opponent for the night, to look up a Hakuchoyami Tsugihagi. Apparently Naruto had gotten smarter since she had known him, because he smiled knowingly back at Gaara.

Glancing about where the fights were to occur, Sakura studied the terrain to see how it might work to her advantage. First off, though it was dark outside, the arena was rather well lit, so her dark clothing was a moot point. There were several spires of rock formations in the arena, providing a semblance of an area to sneak about, block attacks, and set up traps. She also spotted a few other nin doing their homework. Of main attraction was Shikamaru who looked like he was drawing schematics in his head. Ino was standing next to him, looking bored as ever with her husband's preoccupancy. Bad move if she was planning to participate.

Seeing that she had examined her battleground thoroughly, Sakura turned and bumped into the very person she had been avoiding the past few weeks, in a moment of terrible neglect on her part.

She heard a slight chuckle as she glanced into, at least in her opinion, the slimiest purple eyes she had ever seen.

"Not as graceful as you put yourself out to be are you Tsugi-san?"

Sakura fought the urge to throw up in her mouth as she dipped in an apologetic and respectful bow. "I apologize Chudoku-sama. I was simply caught up in studying where I was going to be fighting tonight."

Chudoku gave a small, but hearty laugh. "Please, you don't need to use sama with me. Simply call me Chudoku. I look forward to your performance tonight. Do you know who you are fighting?"

Sakura almost rolled her eyes at his request to use his name informally. "I will continue to call you Chudoku-sama so long as you remain a Clan Leader. As for my opponent, I do not know who it is going to be. To maintain some uncertainty, opponents are not announced until the fight is going to begin. This assures no assassination attempts and that the match is based on pure skill and not planning."

Chudoku nodded his understanding. "Well, I must be going Tsugihagi. Gaara-sama wants to escort me through the market during the festival." He bowed his goodbye and departed back to the now lit-up Suna. The sun had finally managed to set, and the festival was to begin. And in less than an hour, she was going to fight for the first time. And she was going to shock and awe everyone with her newfound abilities. Her opponent wouldn't know what had hit them…

* * *

Her hour passed quickly enough. After walking through the market for a bit to take in some sights and sounds, she made her way back to the arena. She found all the nin awaiting their name to be called for the starting match. Turned out that Temari and Ino were first off.

While they fought, Sakura felt a presence approach her that she had been waiting for the whole night. It was raw, unbridled power, but it had the sense of finesse to it. It was old, exciting, and energetic and familiar to her. She opted to wait for the hand to land on her shoulder before she turned.

As she felt the hand land, she turned her head and glanced up into eyes filled to the brim with emotion. "Tsugi right?"

"Naruto-san. I overheard you talking with Gaara-sama about me."

Naruto was slightly taken aback by the voice that had replied to him. The smooth, confident and somewhat cold voice did not match what he was expecting. In all honesty, he had hoped that being given another chance in Suna would have returned her to her pre-Sasuke-going-crazy days. Make her happy again.

Instead, looking into the now patchwork face that could be seen and into her sea-foam green eyes, he found a completely different person. Something lethal. Something hidden. And he felt the beast inside of him stir as it recognized something…which was strange as the Kyuubi rarely exhibited interest in single individuals…

"_**She came back…after all these years, she came back…the one who turned me away, the one who defeated me before being trapped…she's there…"**_

Naruto had no idea what the beast was speaking of, only that he felt a mixture of resentment, respect, and wariness coming from it. Respect was the most surprising, especially considering that it was speaking of Sakura…

"Hakuchoyami Tsugihagi of the Hidden Village of Sand, please step forward to start your match!"

Sakura took one last look at the now robust and mature Naruto. She felt an inkling of pride as she saw that he had calmed down some and held and aura of peace about him. He had made peace with his village, with the Kyuubi, and with himself. And she also felt an inkling of resentment for the very same reasons.

She gave a short bow and stepped away from her friend of past, and in her slinky glory stepped into her ring, dressed in all black and looking every bit a shadow put in human form.

"And the challenger, Kakashi of the Hidden Leaf, also step forward!"

And that was when Sakura felt her anger flare. She contained her energy, but just barely…one of those who verbally disowned her, who didn't believe in her…he would pay…

Kakashi walked out with a cocky jaunt in his step, for all his slouchy and deceptively lazy posture. He looked no different at all from when she last saw him. Good. Maybe that meant he hadn't gotten any better.

"Rules! No killing, no dismembering! Jutsus, so long as no permanent harm will be done, are allowed! No bars on taijutsu so long as they aren't killing blows! Ready?"

Sakura gave a customary bow to Kakashi, who returned in like. She saw the perverted sparkle in his eyes as he took in her black clad form and eager curiousity that was aroused by the mysterious mask on her face. Sakura didn't care for that look at all and planned to wipe his face of it.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was enjoying the view, and found it amusing that they would put him up against a rookie kunoichi. No one had heard of her before, not even him, plus what he could sense of her chakra stores, they were to be mocked. This would be a cinch win, and he planned on asking the mysterious vixen in black with sea-foam green eyes out afterwards…and yet he had an inkling, the smallest of feelings that she was familiar somehow…

"GO!"

Kakashi barely had time to react when the vixen just appeared in front of him and slammed her fist into his face. He couldn't believe it! Only Lee was this fast! He almost froze as she disappeared from in front of him and reappeared behind him, grabbing him in choke and pulling him close so she could whisper in his ear.

And he almost melted at the voice that came from behind the black mask…it was sensuous, warm, husky, and dangerous all at the same time. It was everything that would drive a hot blooded man crazy.

"Do not be quick to judge by appearances Kakashi-san. I am more dangerous that you ever gave me credit for…Sensei…" The last words, Sakura allowed to slip through as her old voice, the voice of the bookworm that all in Konoha shunned and cast out.

Kakashi was beyond surprised and barely collected the wits to free himself from Sakura's iron cast hold. He leapt away, his eyes never leaving the form of his old student who he discredited. What had happened to her? She looked nothing like she used to, and there were burn scars on her face and her hair was black except the one streak…she had filled out to a womanly figure, and as he looked in her eyes, had developed a healthy and understandable hatred for him as he looked back on all he had done and all that had happened to her.

If she had gotten good, he wouldn't blame her for killing him. But he wasn't about to lay down and die. Giving his opponent a rebellious look, he disappeared behind one of the stone spires to regroup himself.

Sakura caught his petulant look and didn't like it. Not one bit. She wanted to show him her full potential. Everything that she had become, everything he discredited. She decided to knock him on his ass by sheer power alone. She gave a yell as she let her barriers hiding her chakra down and let her power consume her body in a whirlwind of power, heat, hatred, and anguish at all she had been put through. Her body became surrounded with a grey light and coalesced around her back as a cloud. She was unconscious of this, focused only the raw feeling of her emotions brought to the forefront.

She didn't know the amount of shocked eyes that were lock on her at the moment, and one greedy pair as it waited for some little bit more.

Temari, who was being waited on by some medic nins from Konoha, was almost rocked on her heels as she felt the most ominous and great power since her brother's surrounded her. It was complex in such a way that it was not a great beast such as the Kyuubi or Shukaku. This was not so feral. This smacked of untold pain and need for retribution. The chakra was so strong, she felt the feelings projected into her, it consumed her…

Gaara stood, trying to hide the mixture of surprise and pride he felt at Sakura's release. Surprise in the fact he hadn't expected her to be so powerful right from the get go, and proud that he had created the chakra monstrosity that was on display in front of all the nin. That it bore his insignia and not the Leaf's. But he was worried too, because he saw recognition on the face of the jounin that Sakura was fighting. Sakura had done so much to conceal her identity from all, and she had blown it. But why? As the emotion flowing from her power pervaded him, he knew. She wanted Kakashi to know exactly what he had given up on, to know what defeat at her hands was like in return for her embarrassment and grief.

And Chudoku, seated next to Gaara, looked on, his interest piqued as he took in the grey, unformed cloud of chakra that gathered around the angry and grief stricken kunoichi's shoulders. Could it be? Were his suspicions correct? Was it her?

And Kakashi really did freeze. Was he feeling this right? Her chakra stores were huge, rivaling Naruto's. He was surrounded in her animosity and now he had no doubt that if she wanted to crush him, she could. If she still had the chakra control she used to have, she would be inexhaustible. She could go forever…and that was terrifying. If only he had known her potential…he never would have treated her the way he had…

A/N: Sorry for taking like a year. School has sucked. Majorly. But I found some time to whip up a quick chapter. Hope it didn't suck too much.


	11. Fight For Your Right To Stand Alone

What has come over me

Breakaway

--

Chapter 10: Fight For Your Right To Stand Alone

--

"Into the Night" by Disturbed

What has come over me?  
What madness taken hold of my heart?  
To run away, the only answer  
Pulling me away  
To fall upon (the night)  
The source of my recovery  
Sweet shadow taking hold of the light  
Another day has been devoured  
Calling me away, bringing a question  
Why

For saving me from all they've taken  
Let my armor fall again  
Giving me the strength to face them  
Feeling it taking over  
Now, on a path to take it all away  
There can be no better way of knowing

(Chorus)  
In a world beyond controlling  
Are you going to deny the savior  
In front of your eyes?  
Stare into the night  
Power beyond containing  
Are you going to remain a slave for  
The rest of your life?  
Give into the night

This self discovery  
Redemption taking hold of my mind  
A serenade of haunting voices  
Calling me away  
To feast upon (the night)  
The source of my felicity  
Dark maiden taking hold of my hand  
Lead me away from hibernation  
Strong and unafraid  
Never a question why

For saving me from all they've taken  
Let my armor fall again  
Giving me the strength to face them  
Feeling it taking over  
Now, on a path to take it all away  
There can be no better way of knowing

(Chorus)  
In a world beyond controlling  
Are you going to deny the savior  
In front of your eyes?  
Stare into the night  
Power beyond containing  
Are you going to remain a slave for  
The rest of your life?  
Give into the night

(Guitar Solo)

Give into the night

(Chorus)  
In a world beyond controlling  
Are you going to deny the savior  
In front of your eyes  
Stare into the night  
Power beyond containing  
Are you going to remain a slave for  
The rest of your life  
Give into the night

Night (x3)  
Give into the night  
Night (x3)  
Give into the night (x2)

Kakashi felt every misdeed he'd ever given Sakura returned in full. He felt her betrayal, her pain, and then he felt the horrifying numbness that followed after she broke. And he realized, there was never a point where she broke. She never snapped. She had just been whittled away until there was simply nothing. And that should have shown him something. That all the pain and self-loathing never caused her to break. She had been strong in the face of the unkindness shown to her.

But the numbness…he couldn't believe the numbness. The absence of all feeling…knowing you _should_ be feeling something, knowing what it was, and yet…you would feel nothing. It was paradoxal and almost enough to drive him mad. This is the sort of thing that drives a person to insanity. Yet he knew this new and improved Sakura wasn't insane at all. Just perverse.

When he had gotten that glimpse into her eyes, he realized that she was truly coherent for the first time in her life. She knew who she was, where she was, and what she was doing. That numbness rid her of her grief and pain in knowing that all she was had disappeared the night she left Konoha. All those memories, all that she knew, everything that a normal human being would mourn the loss of. Home, family, friends. She felt nothing for them at all. Just a knowledge that she had been wronged and that she lived in a world where, if you were strong enough, you could carry out your own brand of justice.

And as Kakashi hid behind a pillar in the ring with his old student, he knew that he would be getting his due tonight, and he would never forget it. The great Kakashi would kneel before his old student in defeat and embarrassment. That the very thing he had spurned for being weak and cowardly, would come and prove him wrong in front of all the villages. And it would be the first time out of a really long time that Kakashi would lose.

He knew it in his very bones, that no matter how hard he tried, Sakura would defeat him without breaking a sweat. And that was terrifying. He was one of the best. He was next to Naruto and Gaara and Sunade. He was _the_ Jounin to beat. Kakashi of a thousand jutsus. And this girl that he had branded weak and pathetic would bring him either to his end honorably, or to his knees in embarrassment. His reputation would be gone…

He took a deep breath. More than dishonorable would be to turn his back to her and flee. That was a greater dishonor to Konoha than losing a fight. And even more so, Sakura- no, Tsugi- deserved a good fight from him. She was entitled to beat him into the ground while he gave his all.

Having made this peace with himself, he smiled underneath his mask.

_You always were the glue in the group Sakura; you were the strength underneath all the working parts. And I failed you in not realizing it. I failed to see your willingness underneath your weakness. And now I take my punishment in full, but you won't exact it easily. I want to see the stuff you are made of…_

Kakashi then turned and pulled his bangs away from his one eye and faced his opponent. "Tsugihagi, I will not go down easily. Hit me with your best shot!"

Sakura looked deep into Kakashi's eyes as he spoke, and she felt a semblance of peace reenter her soul. But her justice was to be meted out. Her honor would accept nothing less than Kakashi's complete and total defeat. And Suna's honor now rested on her shoulders too. Suna deserved nothing less than a complete, unquestionable win. They saved her, they rebuilt her, and they saw something that was there the whole time. They deserved nothing less than her best.

"Very well jounin of the Leaf."

Both opponents gave another bow, and disappeared into blurs of taijutsu.

Naruto stood in the stands in complete awe…is this what the stupid Kyuubi had been speaking of? The waves of power were almost enough to scare him a bit. But this wasn't raw power…this wasn't the stuff of the Kyuubi or Gaara's personal demon. This was a finer, more focused power. And for all the ferocity on Sakura's masked face, it was a soft power too. It washed over him in waves. He felt something in it, something he knew only because the Kyuubi was part of him. She meant harm, and she didn't at the same time. She was here to become the balance, the crossroads of something in the future. She would tip the scale…Naruto couldn't put his finger on it…

Something big was coming…and there was a foul presence in the air…Naruto just couldn't figure out what it was…

Gaara was having a hard time suppressing his pride. Sakura, his Tsugi, was taking down one of the most renowned jounin in all the countries. And Gaara was also proud because as he looked on, he saw that Sakura had lost her desire to kill Kakashi. Something had happened down there and it had created a sort of peace between the two. But he also saw a new determination rise.

He saw that she meant to bring honor to his country, to his hidden village. She also meant to display that she was not to be messed with, that she was strong. She was putting this on so that Kakashi would take an honorable defeat. That he would go back to Konoha reeducated in where he went wrong.

As he watched this change, the grey chakra grew a little whiter, a little more pure, a little more defined.

Sakura was slowly bringing Kakashi down. And Gaara knew this wasn't everything she had in her bag of tricks. Not to say that she wasn't working hard by any means. She was relying heavily on her taijutsu instead of her ninjutsu. And Kakashi may have been older, but he was no pushover. He was giving Sakura a run for her money.

After about 10 minutes, Kakashi took a knee. He was covered in sweat and bruises, and there was blood coming from a scrape on his forehead. His breathing was heavily labored and though he had some more in him, he knew that he would never win. And his stamina was mostly gone.

Sakura landed lightly in front of him and gave the smallest of bows.

"Thank you Kakashi of the Hidden Leaf. I am honored by the chance to have finally fought you one on one."

Kakashi nodded as Sakura's chakra faded slowly away from visibility.

Sakura watched on as she was announced winner for the round and as Kakashi stood and walked wearily back to the stands. Sakura turned to face Gaara and was surprised to find him looking down at her with a smug pride on his face. She also took special notice that Chudoku was looking at her with pointed, focused interest. Like she had something he wanted. She narrowed her eyes slightly before leaping up into the stands to sit next to Gaara and watch until it was her turn to take on another opponent from the winner of another bracket. She ensured that she put as much space as she could between her and Chudoku.

Gaara could tell that the Clansman was giving his ward an intense interest. And it bothered him, for the white-haired man's eyes never left Tsugi ever since she had departed the ring. Gaara had been lightly gripping the arm holds of his chair before hand, but now he was restraining himself from snapping them. No one, and he meant _no one_, should stare at his ward with such an animal and sexual regard as this man was. Sakura was _his_.

**Kukuku…there you go again you silly container…claiming her as yours. You care for the silly human don't you…?**

Gaara balked in his own mind at the thought. Sakura was his creation. Of course he would have pride and be protective of her. She was _his_, as in property _his_. He had no other interest in her. Caring beyond making sure she was physically healthy was nonexistent.

**You can't lie to me Gaara. But think what you want. Just make sure she's taken care of, or I will give you a hell beyond any you knew of before hand.**

How dare the Shukaku tell him what to do! Accuse him of lying even! Gaara knew himself to cruel and mean, but lie? And to himself most of all?! Shukaku was just pressing his buttons to be irritating, so Gaara decided to ignore it.

Turning his attention back to Chudoku, Gaara ended up gaining eye contact. And all of a sudden he realized what Tsugi has been seeing. Whatever darkness that Gaara housed in his soul, wasn't even close to a comparison to what he glanced in those eyes. So dark, it was a void. An expanse of nothingness, a greedy nothingness, sucking, pulling, eager to swallow anything and everything.

But it was only a glimpse, and what happened in mere seconds, took ages for Gaara. He felt this man could suck the soul out of a human body if he willed it. But the moment had passed, and Chudoku was smiling as if nothing had happened.

"Tsugi my dear, that was a lovely match! I had no idea you were so talented. No wonder you are the Kazekage's personal guard dog. Such grace and finesse!"

Chudoku showered Sakura with praises, but she saw right through them. She didn't need the approval of anyone besides the man she was sitting next to and his sister. They were her sensei's and, the more she thought about it, her family. Dysfunctional though it may be, a family none the less. They looked out for each other, and Sakura owed them her life.

Chudoku was trying to charm her. The sneaky, sleazy bastard. Charm her into a state of vulnerability. She was not so stupid. She glanced over to find Gaara staring at Chudoku with a blank face. But his eyes were swarming with emotion. Gaara turned toward Sakura and nodded his head in approval for the fight. As they made eye contact, Sakura determined that there were so many emotions in those green eyes that she couldn't sort any single one out. But she knew that he was proud of her, and of her abilities, and that was all that mattered to her.

She nodded back and turned her disdainful gaze toward Chudoku.

"I appreciate the compliments Lord Chudoku, but they are unnecessary. I seek approval from only the Kazekage and his family. Anyone else's approval pales in comparison to that given by my sensei's."

Sakura sniffed to herself haughtily and returned to watching the match that had started shortly after her own ended. It seems that Water Country hadn't sent their best for Gaara's unveiling of a refurbished Suna. Mist was running literal circles around the Water Nin.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chudoku stiffen in anger, glaring at her. Gaara returned the look tenfold back at Chudoku, but then also turned to watch the match with Sakura. He leaned forward just enough to cut off Chudoku's glare from reaching her.

The rest of the night was spent in a tense silence, as Sakura's final opponent was being determined.

Surprise, surprise. Tsugi's last opponent was another from Konoha. And was a surprise contestant. No one had seen this person all night until now and the previous fight where they dominated without question.

Sakura's blood was boiling like it never had before. She could barely contain the rage flooding through her system.

Her memory of year after year of bending down on one knee and giving up everything she was, to include her pride, to try and become something more.

Years of having it spurned back in her face shamefully.

It was more than anger. It was hate. The person in front her was the symbol of everything she hated. Sakura was surprised at the intensity of the feeling coursing, singing through her veins. It had been a long time since she had felt something so assuredly, so passionately. The feeling threatened, enticed to consume her every thought. She wanted nothing more than to unleash it and let it run its course.

To finally feel again was exhilarating. But her promise to Gaara reined her in. And Gaara's command was her life now.

Her green eyes glared in undisguised hatred at the blonde woman standing confidently in the middle of the arena. The Kage of Fire Country herself. Tsunade.

The arrogant woman wouldn't know what hit her. Tsugi swore on her own life and Gaara's. She would pay. Without wasting any time, Sakura leaped from her position next to Gaara to land gracefully before the 5th Kage of the Leaf. Sakura made an effort to reign in the disgusted, angry looks she wanted to shoot at the woman. No need to give herself away to the woman who had spurned everything Sakura had ever wanted.

"Tsunade-san."

Sakura smirked as the blonde's face darkened at the slight insult Tsugi had implied. "You, young woman, will learn your place. I am a Kage. You will respect me. I don't care if you whooped up on Kakashi. I will end your world. I am more than Hatake could ever hope to be."

Now Sakura was fuming. How dare she insult Kakashi! He was THREE times the nin than the drowning-in-sake-perpetually-in-debt Kage would EVER be. But once again, she reigned it in.

"I do not answer to you as a Kage Tsunade-san. Only Gaara commands my actions and my respect. You have yet to prove your worth in my eyes, just as I have yet to earn it in yours. Do not presume to be my master."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed further and her nostrils flared at the slights and disrespect that were coming from the mediocre nin before her. She was still trying to understand how Kakashi lost to the small female. She wasn't much of a looker with her visible scarring…

As Tsunade locked eyes with her opponent, she suddenly gave pause. Her mind flashed back to multiple memories of teal eyes filled with hope, desperation, and a dying soul. The ones she looked into now were different, yet not. Where there had been emptiness before, there was now an all consuming hate and a purpose. But it couldn't be…and how would her of all people…? NO FUCKING WAY!

Tsunade let loose he chakra stores against Tsugi's restrained one in challenge. "I ought to put you in my bingo book for being a traitor to the leaf."

Tsugi snorted. "Ah, Tsunade-san. That would have required me to be a nin when I left. But I was stripped of that title now wasn't I? Leaf has no claim on me. And even if that were true, you wouldn't risk the loss of Gaara-sama's support and possibly Naruto's just because you can't face the fact that you fucked up when it came to me. Doing so would be foolish and petulant of you."

Tsunade snarled so that the whole of the ring could hear her anger. "I will not be chastised by the likes of you! I will beat you without shame into the dirt floor of this arena!"

Sakura smirked beneath her mask. "Likewise Tsunade-san. I think you won't know what hit you. I was being nice with Kakashi-sama. That was just taijutsu. You get the full range of my abilities. I will break you like you broke me!"

This time when Sakura dropped her barriers, the feeling that washed over the arena was not one of pain or suppressed sorrow. It was one of aggression, revenge, hate, and self-righteousness. This was someone who was defending who they were in life. Someone who was going to peg and mark their place in history, dead or alive. It was pride of self and teacher.

Sakura would not lose, even if it took her dying breath to defeat the slug queen and one of the legendary sannin.

"I do not fear you Tsunade. My personal demons are scarier than you would have ever hoped to be. Now I will show you the potential you snubbed, the potential that Gaara-sensei saw and unlocked. I will not defeat a kage for that would be shameful. But I will defeat someone who shamed and slighted me. As a sensei who failed me, I will have you yield before me."

And with little preamble, Sakura disappeared from Tsunade's sight.

"Give me everything you have, for I will accept no less from someone as self-righteous as yourself.."

Tsunade then found herself facedown in the dirt as Sakura landed a nasty knee in the middle of her back. Thus began a fight that would have spectators led away from the arena it got so dangerous. Only Gaara, Naruto, the ref, and Chudoku remained behind to witness the struggle of wills between two proud women.

Tsunade got up instantly from where she had been kneed into the ground. So that was how it was going to be? It literally was going to be no holds barred battle between them. Wasting no time, Tsunade formed a few seals, bit her thumb, and pulled out her slug scroll, summoning her companion for years.

Katsuyu appeared in a puff of smoke, dominating the arena floor and knocking many pillars down as she took up space.

Her sudden arrival forced Tsugi to reappear into Tsunade's sight as she avoided being crushed. Tsugi was slightly miffed that Tsunade had brought another being into the fight against her, but it was no holds barred, so it was allowed.

Tsunade chuckled as Tsugi reappeared in sight, disappearing to swing a chakra laden fist at Tsugi's head. With little effort, Sakura deflected the punch to the side and countered with a powerful kick into the Kage's side.

"You're strength may scare others, but I have the grace and agility to say I will not be cowed by such a thing."

Grabbing Tsunade's wrist, Tsugi proceeded to flip the Kage and slam her into the body of her slug Katsuyu, causing the slug to squeal in pain and disappear in a puff of smoke. One opponent gotten rid of and the arena now open to be used again, Sakura wasted no time in engaging the Kage in close combat.

Sakura knew that she had to wear down the woman quickly, wary of Tsunade using her Shadow Seal to regenerate and heal her injuries. Sakura had no such ability so the sooner she wore out Tsunade and force her to use the seal, the sooner Sakura could start in on her again.

Sakura danced around Tsunade's amplified strength, getting only glancing shots from the Kage, which caused Tsunade to become reckless.

Sakura began to watch as the older woman tired ever so slowly, bruises and cuts beginning to hamper her movement. Sakura knew that the Godaime would be activating her regenerative jutsu soon. Like clockwork, Tsunade let it go, instantly regaining her failing stamina and all her bruises and cuts disappeared. Sakura was relying purely on her chakra control and her massive stores at this moment. Sakura would have to prove that her taijutsu and her chakra control were so perfect that she could outlast what could be considered two fights with a fresh opponent.

As the fight wore on and Sakura got more and more beat up, Gaara began to worry in the stands, and Tsunade began to become cocky in her moves. She sensed that Sakura's stores were failing her, being down to half way full. Tsunade's own were that depleted, but the kunoichi didn't have as many wounds hampering her movement.

In a rash decision, Tsunade made a large mistake. Winding back for another chakra laden punch, she left her face wide open, thinking Sakura too tired to move quick. The more powerful move cause Tsunade to move a bit slower, and Sakura immediately picked up on the opening.

Wasting no time, Sakura leapt, and with all her might and heart and hatred, slammed her fist underneath the Godaime's jaw, shattering bone and knocking the woman clean out.

Tsugi resisted the urge to spit on the woman's unconscious form while the referee announced her win. She had won out. Victory was hers in the end. Tsunade would now live with the humiliation of knowing what she had unknowingly cast away almost a year ago.

Gaara had leaped down from his box to stand next to Sakura, only catch her as she passed out. He caught her easily, and resisted smiling on the outside, though his pride in her accomplishment made it difficult. Sakura had bested a Kage. Besides a few choice times in history such as orochimaru, no one had bested a Kage from any Hidden Village. And of those choice times, never had the Kage walked away alive. Which may or may not have bad repercussions. Tsunade would be seen as weak, though she was far from it. This may end up in attempts on her life.

Gaara shook his head. That would be a problem for a later date. He had a passed out Tsugi in his arms and he was receiving strange looks from those around him, and Chudoku was leering her. Wasting no time, Gaara collected Sakura's winnings and spirited her away to his mansion, making sure to leave her in his sister's capable hands to undress her, dress any wounds, and get her into bed.

Tomorrow would be the last day of the celebration, and would involve a large formal feast for the Kages and select nobles, and another festival night for everyone else. He was fairly sure Tsugi wouldn't take to kimono too well…

A/N: Yes yes, I know. I took my merry time. School is a bitch, and I do my best, but sometimes it's not enough. So here is the chapter! Hope it wasn't deplorable!


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